The Moon Cat's Cradle
by Elizabeth Athineu
Summary: The newest case for the most promising reformist in vampiric research, Ceridwen NiStuart, is a challenge unlike any other. Dwight Wrenn or rather, Renfield is about to experience an unforgettable journey into the world of the Moon Cradle. -The Night Flier
1. Into the Moon Cradle

**Chapter 1: Into the Moon Cradle**

Ceridwen NiStuart finished packing the supplies that she would need for this assignment. This was wonderful and frightening for the young girl at the same time. Ceridwen looked to be in her late teens, her true age being somewhat of a mystery to the operatives she worked with. Ceridwen was head of her branch, and was not about to let something as trivial as her age be the source of ridicule among her peers, there was enough against her. The girl was a reformist for a branch of the Universal Department of World Affairs, and happened to be the top graduate from her training. The department acted for the rest of the world in staunch emergencies where the United Nations could not. This was always amusing to any of the elite operatives, since comparitively speaking they could have been doing much, much more for the world. As of late, they had been limited to two bureaus; one of which saw incredible action everyday and the other never in use. The one that lay dormant was a bearaeu dedicated to extraterrestrial activity. The other, was a branch solely dedicated to the activities of supernatural beings. This branch, the BPB (bureau of preternatural beings), had been created by men and women that were eyewitnesses to some of the greatest mysteries on earth unfolding. Strange animals like chupacabra and wolfmen were a common issue for the branch, but not as common as their vampiric counterparts. Vampiricism was a terrible disease that spread like wildfire if it got into the wrong victim, bearing in mind that there was no such thing as the right victim. Ceridwen had devoted her life to the study of the illness and had made at least five breakthroughs in the field. She had been the first to openly categorize eastern and western vampires as two different illnesses and begin to study them seperately.

Her first assignment as head of a reform team would begin in a mere day. Ceridwen had done the necessary internships and even superceeded the groundwork required for one to participate at the head of any research team. She was ready for the opportunity to test her skills, at least in theory. The case was that of a comparitively young vampire named Dwight. He had used the psuedonym surname Renfield on his feeding excursions. Ceridwen insisted, after reading his profile, that his real name was not something that predictable or silly. The subject, who had been doing his feedings using a small engine aircraft to ferry him about, was less than one hundred years old. In modern times, most cases of the illness in new infections were caught within twenty four hours and were therefore curable. True, there were a few newer cases of vampires that were recieving attention that were only in the hundred or so range, but Dwight was the only vampire left of his generation. He had been tracked by a tabloid reporter named Richard Dees. After a face to fang encounter with the man, Dees had tried every method possible to get someone to believe what he told them about his journey into the macabre. He had stumbled onto an operative entirely by accident. Jeremiah Gamaliel, the ironically adopted brother of young Ceridwen, had overheard the rants of the aging bull-peddler. Jeremiah, or rather, Jeremy had decided to look into pursuing the case to end the terror being brought on America's airfields. Unlike his altruistic younger sister, Jeremy seemed hellbent on destroying as many preternatural beings as possible instead of aiding them in achieving normalcy. Jeremy was quintessentially the bureau's equivalent to a 'conscientious objector'.

Ceridwen looked over the file she had studied for the past two weeks once more. Dwight was going to be a handful being so set in his ways and so inexperienced at the same time. She sighed and smiled as she slipped the folder into one of the pouches on her satchel. Ceridwen was unmistakable in appearance, even in the dark as she left the room preparing to depart. She had enormous yellow-green eyes that commanded with her every change of emotion. Her long, dark, hair lay in waves around her shoulders and back; usually kept away from her face by a stunning, yet simple, jeweled headband. Ceridwen had pale skin with a few freckles, hinting back towards her Briton herritage. Her smooth form moved with swan-like grace and feline dexterity, making even her simplest of gestures seem like a step from a focused ballerina. Full lips and a bright smile completed the look that made Ceridwen also one of the most intrguing reformists among fellow reform specialists. She had never allowed herself time for any kind of selfish relationship. She, herself, had a few preternatural secrets that she had decided were best kept to her own worries. Ceridwen was warm and compassionate, but often quite a bit reclusive. She breathed deeply as she walked down the hallway of the department's laboratory facility and headed towards the hangar. She cleared the numerous security guards and started slowly towards the tiny plane that awaited her. It was too risky for operatives to travel commercial lines. It amused the young girl that she would be aiding a vampire that knew exactly how to pilot this craft. She settled behind the captain and waited for the adventure to begin.

Dwight felt his vision beginning to clear. The last thing he could bring to memory was being at a small airport in the southeastern coastline. He had felt a severe pain in the side of his head and neck, then blacked out. Since becoming a vampire, Dwight hadn't really known pain or illness. Unconsciousness was something that only happened if he tried to starve himself to death. When first discovering his condition, the young man had tried at least fifty times to end the suffering of his new exsistance, by allowing himself to starve or staying in the sunlight. As far as the sunlight went, instinct took over and he convulsed until finding shelter from the radiation. When it came to starvation, Dwight would black out for what seemed like several hours and awaken once more to find a dismembered victim in front of him. He had since given into the inevitable and began to fine tune his new skills for survival. Dwight was an excellent hunter by now, his powers almost at their peak. How on earth had someone managed to render him helpless? He groaned and tried to sit up, holding his head. Dwight had usually, in fact, been very poor at being a proper vampire by mannerisms. The taste of blood tended to make him ill, and he was always in the habit of getting to know the poor individuals that fed to his penchant for sustenance. He had worked through most of the ids that caused both, and learned to see himself as a necessary part of the food chain. Now, he wasn't even sure what day it was and where he was laying. Dwight had been anesthetized before, this is almost what it had felt like. As a very young boy, he had contracted polio in his right leg, but with wealthy parents willing to do anything to help their child, the disease went into full remission. His upbringing as a well-to-do New Englander had been tossed to the side after his transformation in his early twenties. He had never wanted this kind of exsistance, not even in dark fantasies.

He suddenly felt a small hand on his shoulder. His mind buzzed for a second. Usually he could smell lifeforms, especially humans, before they were able to get within twenty yards of him. At the moment, he couldn't tell by any other means than the shape of the apendage on him, that this being was human. He realized that he was wearing essentially what he had been wearing when accosted by whatever had led him to this. The only things that had been removed from his person were his cloak, his cravat, and his jacket. He had decided to wear the attire he had always known to mark someone of power. Even while growing up, his father had worn an opera cape to all gatherings outside the house to re-emphasize his station. He drew in a deep breath and sat upright.

"Easy. I'm sure the drugs are still wearing out of your system.", a soft, feminine voice said soothingly. He stopped and listened to the woman's breathing for a moment. She not only seemed safe, she seemed calming; as if she were trying to help him somehow. He laid back slightly, allowing her to lay her hand on his chest and move him backwards. He tried to open his eyes again. He felt his heart nearly stop at the sight of this girl. She was beautiful. This must have been somekind of strange dream. He had experienced these vivid dreams before, all of them quite bizarre and usually ending with him feeling terribly lonely. "Before you start to panic, know that you are safe. You are in a home in Maine, not far from where you were raised from what I understand. Your name is Dwight, if that has slipped your mind for the time being. The year is 2003. You're not well, you're suffering from vampiricism, but I am here to change that. I am Ceridwen Aerlinn NiStuart from the Bureau of Preternatural Beings. It is very good to see you in person."

He groaned. The rush of exactly what had happened came back to him. He had been able to see, out of the corner of his unnaturally keen eye, several young men at the airport that had been in somekind of uniform. At the time, he had thought they might have been the FAA, but now he was sure they were something else. Did this girl know what he was? She must have, otherwise they wouldn't have taken such precautions to keep him so drugged. He opened his eyes more fully to assess the situation properly. He seemed to be lying on a bed, not the floor, and in a bedroom not a hospital. The illness she was referring to must have been his state of being. Dwight hated for anyone to refer to him as a vampire, or for anyone to see what he truly was. The humiliation of what had befallen him would always quickly become insurmountable rage. He was able to focus on the pain in his head. He reached up and touched the back of his skull gingerly. There was a large bandage there. He sat up more quickly, the girl still trying to keep him calm and give him details about himself that he already knew and was tired of remembering.

Ceridwen noticed his make-shift examination of his own wound. "Don't worry, that's just a precautionary method taken for all of your kind when you're brought to us. It's a microchip that serves as both a tracking device and a behavior modification stimulator. The moment it senses you about to transmorph into vampiric form, it sends a jolt of electricity through you. It's relatively painless, but prevents your from hurting anyone else and yourself.", she reassured. "When you're stronger, it will be removed."

"Stronger?", he groaned.

"You've been living on the bare essentials, Dwight. Vampires need a steady supply of plasma and other nutrients found in blood to survive properly.", she explained. He felt a surge of anger twisting within him at the usage of that word. "Feeding in small bouts isn't good for your kind. That's where I come in, I'm here to show you how to live like a healthy, normal individual."

Dwight snarled, until pain gripped the back of his head. He was so used to transforming at will, that he had lost the ability to sense the full surge of power experienced moments before the occurrance. He laid backwards, holding the back of his head tightly. "I am fine, leave me alone!", he growled. Ceridwen frowned at him. He looked up, panting at the young girl. "I said _leave me alone_!"

"Hostility is to be expected, I suppose. You should rest for now and recover what little strength you still have. My associate, Jeremy, will see to it that you are fed before the sun rises.", she said rising slowly from the edge of the bed. "Good night."

He growled more loudly and reached to take hold of her. Again, the same pain shot through his skull and down his spine. He really hadn't noticed how frequently he had been using his alternate form in anger. He breathed heavily as the girl left the room. The door closed behind her with a soft thud, then the familiar sound of locks clicking into place could be heard. He frowned and slunk out of the bed, looking around the room. It was a decent size, and quite dark. There was nothing in the room save a chest of drawers, a nightstand with a lamp, and the bed. On the farthest wall was a window covered by long, thick, black curtains. Dwight stumbled over to it, leaning against the chest of drawers to steady himself for the moment. He sighed heavily and grabbed hold of one of the curtains, tearing it away from the rod. In front of him, the large window rattled with a strong wind. He sighed heavily and began to pry at it. To his dismay, he seemed to be in a much weaker form. He couldn't get the window to move at all! The panes on it were heavy and made from something much stronger than glass. They also seemed to be tinted in case of somekind of accident befalling the curtains, the best example being the one he had just displayed. He panted heavily and hurried over to the door, trying to force it open. It was most definitely his strength that was in question, he couldn't find it within himself to force open a simple wooden door. He sank to his knees, feeling desperation for the first time in decades. His heart raced madly in his chest until his mind ordered his body to be perfectly still for a few moments. The command was obeyed nearly instantaneously with unconsciousness.


	2. Hypothetical Facts

Chapter 2: Hypothetical Facts

Ceridwen gathered her fellow operatives into the main drawing room of the large estate that would serve as their home while they worked through the project. They sat quietly around a large oak table with intricate runes etched into the edgings. The group had learned that this estate belonged to Dwight's family inderectly and had been reposessed by the state some months ago. Ceridwen used what little she had to purchase it. This would be a perfect place to begin reforming the aged subject. The other reformists on the team looked out of one of the windows as the sun began to fully set. Ceridwen shifted uncomfortably as she downed a small vial of fluid and breathed deeply for a moment. The rest of the teammates waited patiently for the young girl to gather her thoughts and sit down at the head of the table. She sighed heavily and took the folder she had brought with her in her hands, opening it carefully.

"Gentlemen, this is an exciting and terrifying moment for me. I look forward to our task and working closely with all of you.", she said with a bright smile. "I think we should start by discussing basic vampirism from biological and psychological aspects."

"No offense, Miss NiStuart, but I think all of us already know what a vampire is and what they can do. We've all seen _Dracula_ a hundred times.", the closest operative said with a laugh. The rest of the team snickered softly. Ceridwen frowned and stood slowly.

"Really? That must not have left much time for anything else in your childhood.", she mused. The operatives silenced as she began to walk ceremoniously around the table. "The sad fact of the matter is, that even most of the researchers and reformists in the advanced programs at the academy do not fully understand the inner workings of a vampire's body and mind."

"We're more than aware of your controversial 'Twilight Redemption' theories, Miss NiStuart.", he continued with an angry stare.

"Good. Perhaps you can tell the rest of us what occurs when a subject to discover their own condition and the effect it has on them.", Ceridwen said as she stood opposite him. She folded her arms and smiled slightly.

He cleared his throat. "They wake up and realize that even though they're technically dead they'll be sick and hurting for years. They're sad, afraid, and angry.", he recited with a yawn. Ceridwen smiled even broader and leaned over the table.

"That's quite a surface observation you've made, James.", she said calmly. "But I think you're understating the intricacies that will become commonplace to us over the next few weeks."

"Like what? All of the other teams we've been on discuss their plans of action, get on with it, and then leave.", he said dissmissively.

"That is another reason that many of the reform cases over the past five decades have failed miserably.", she scoffed and then began to circle the table once more. "It's to our advantage that human suffering on the more natural level has reached a higher point that can help us explain these things more clearly to men and women such as yourself, that do not have time to properly research what a vampire is and how to help them. It's not entirely a deliberate effort to be that way on your part. After all, there's hardly time for any study when one spends so much time in front of a screen, viewing the cartoony renditions of misrepresented Romanian nobleman."

The rest of the team laughed slightly again. James frowned further and sighed. "Then why don't you give us your version... of vampirism that is.", he said waving his hand towards her. She bowed slightly, mocking his sarcastic gesture.

"Imagine, gentleman. You wake up one morning, the sun burns mercilessly into your eyes and skin. You suddenly realize that if you don't move away from the light, you will burn to death. You move away to the cool shade and assess the strange occurrance. After some careful observations, you come to realize that you have a terminal illness. Let's compare it to the AIDS virus, for our purposes as mere humans. The virus is going to slowly kill you over the next five centuries or so, and cannot be cured or controlled to your knowledge. Then you realize that your virus will cause you to massacre and outlive every being you come to care for or have cared for in the past, unless you seperate yourself immediately. So you isolate yourself and slip into depression. Now, you experience terrible hunger and thirst all at once, an insatiable burning in every cell you contain. You see a young man standing not far away. Without warning, you feel yourself rush forward and attack the man. Ignoring his screams and pleas for help, you sink your teeth into his throat and rip apart the tender flesh until the warm blood of his maimed body flows into your mouth and begins to satisfy your pangs. It comes to your attention that your teeth must have become longer. You look down at your hands and realize that you have the cragged, grey skin of a decomposing corpse, as well as claw-like fingernails that frighten even you. You are hideous. You've just committed murder. You can't go anywhere because, you cannot step into the light. You are completely paralyzed with terror, not _afraid_; you are utterly desperate, not _sad_; and you are uncontrollably enraged, not _angry_." James stared at Ceridwen in disbelief as she leaned over him. "I'll take this time to re-emphasize that we cannot afford to be casual. Vampires are not void of feelings, they will always experience extremes until their condition stabilizes."

The room stayed dead silent for a moment.

"Is that before or after I realize that I can fly?", Jeremy added with a laugh. Everyone turned to him and glared. The speech that Ceridwen had given had brought a sharper, more serious perspective to the project. He frowned and cleared his throat. "I guess it wouldn't matter, then."

"The dictionary and mythological definitions of vampires are hardly true. While there are enormous similarities, the true vampires that we work with are much different. They are not immortals cursed as the living dead, they are not inhuman monsters, and they are not a romantic ideal of ultimate power.", Ceridwen explained. "True, vampires have preternatural abilities. One of the most pronounced being that the disease inhibits the body from aging as a normal human, the next is being able to rely on incredible instincts that are fine tuned to the world they will need to feed on, they have the power to hypnotize other humans with weaker brainwave frequencies, they are unable to see their own reflections or shadows since light does not behave towards them the same way it does for others, and those suffering from the eastern virus, or VCMD, can utilize a pair of retractable wings."

"VCMD?", Jeremy asked.

"Vladislaus Cel Mircea Disease.", Ceridwen clarified. "It was much better than the first name they had."

"What was the first?", James asked.

"PPS.", she replied.

"What does that stand for, exactly?", Jeremy laughed.

"Peter Plogojowitz Syndrome.", Ceridwen added as she opened the folder again and began to read aloud the symptoms of Dwight's condition. "When a vampire comes in contact with blood, fear, or rage, the victim experiences uncontrollable changes. The victim's skin becomes veiny, cragged, and grey in order to conserve fluids and oxygen as they attack another human. The eyes settle more deeply into the skull, begin to turn yellow in the iris, and the skin underneath the eyes darkens for efficient light absorbtion without the presence of average light. The nose shrinks into the face with the nostrils increasing to twice their size. The gums and teeth erode slightly into jagged shapes while the incisors part to allow the presence of newly formed fangs. The western breed that is affecting Dwight, has two fangs; one alterior and one superior. The alterior pierces the jugular while the superior pierces the corrotid artery. The jaw now has the ability to extend to about fifteen total inches, leaving plenty of room for the six inch, retractable fangs to do their work. The tongue elongates and broadens slightly, making clean up for the victim much easier. The nails elongate, thicken, and sharpen into claws. The hair, losing moisture and luster, becomes straggly and thin. The form is hideous. So much so, that many of the species are completely ashamed of ever revealing their condition even to those that might be able to help them."

"Then the whole hell-beast with great big wings and enormous teeth is a hoax?", Jeremy asked in confusion.

Ceridwen sighed and frowned at him. "You already knew that, Jeremy.", she groaned. "Which reminds me, since the rest of the group has yet to have the discussions that you and I have shared over the past few months, I think that I will continue to instruct them while you go and give Dwight some sustenance."

Jeremy groaned in agitation and stood up. He grumbled angrily as he walked out of the room. Ceridwen's natural compassion sometimes irritated him to no end, but she had yet to really be wrong about anything dealing with this field. He walked over to the refrigeration system that held their blood supply. There was enough in it for two weeks at any given moment. Replacing it was James's job for the time being. Jeremy reached in and took out a pint of whole blood, replaying the speech that Ceridwen had just given. What would it be like to wake up with an illness that would take an eternity to kill you and everyone you touched? He shuddered and pushed this out of his mind as he headed towards the vampire's room. Ceridwen turned back to her colleagues and continued to lecture from the folder she had compiled over the past years and months. After a few moments, Ceridwen suddenly dropped the folder and fell forward, gripping the table. She grunted for a moment, gasping for breath desperately. The operatives around her moved to help her. She clutched her abdomen and began to cry out in emmense pain. James turned to the person nearest him.

"Go get Jeremy, he usually handles this.", he ordered quickly.

The young man next to him nodded and raced out of the room and up the stairs. James knelt cautiously next to Ceridwen as she lay down on the floor and began crying madly in desperation. When news reached Jeremy of the incident, he dropped the pint of blood he was holding at the doorway of Dwight's room and ran towards the cries of his little sister. He had the time to open the door and toss in the pint, but also had the presence of mind to shut the door and lock it quickly. The last thing they needed on the first night, was the subject escaping. Dwight had regained much of his senses by then, specifically in smelling the blood Jeremy had been carrying. He instinctively moved towards it. The blood in front of him was more neatly packaged than any human. He narrowed his gaze at it and picked it up carefully. As he moved to open it, he suddenly smelled something familiar but strange. There was a cat in the house, a rather large one, and it seemed to be in some sort of distress. He frowned and then caught wind of Ceridwen's pained lamenting. Part of him twisted with pity for the girl; the rest of him took his more present mind and tore into the pint he held. As savage as any of his animal instincts might have been, Dwight still had the humanity to wish in earnest that the girl's pain would end in shortly.


	3. Welsh Poetry and The Raven

Chapter 3: Welsh Poetry and the Raven

That night, Dwight tried several more times to both escape the room and get a better look at his current surroundings. Neither proved successful. Even after feeding, he had found that every time he gathered the host of his inhuman strength, pain from the microchip surged through his body. The sharp and unyeilding pains would begin to burn at the base of his skull and travel down the spinal cord out to each limb, viciously gnawing at every nerve ending. Being more intelligent than the animal that tried to take hold of him, Dwight decided to simply lie back and allow enough time to pass to bring either the girl or the young man back into the room. Surely he would be able to override any of the chip's signals if he could just muster enough rage in the presence of a human. He crawled back onto the bed after several hours and sighed heavily. A soft orange glow began to filter through the tinted window at the edge of the room. The sun was most definitely beginning to rise. He growled and moved towards the one panel of curtain that remained on the rod. Luckily, the panel was large enough to cover the rest of the window with a little left to spare. Even with being protected by the darkened glass, Dwight felt a stern disgust for sunlight. After nearly being killed by it numerous times, the symptoms of residual radiation poisoning seemed to wash over him for a moment at just thinking about sunlight. He breathed deeply and climbed back onto the bed yet again. It was unusual to actually be using a bed after eighty something years of using the hold of a small plane. His plane, what had happened to her? He frowned and felt another bout of anger pulsing through him. This time he calmed himself, not wanting to recover from another fit of electrocution again. He sighed, centering himself on what he could do to get away from this place.

He still wasn't quite sure of what this place was and who the people around him were. With pure instinct being his main avenue of thought and feeling for the past few decades, Dwight hadn't been able to properly listen to everything that the young girl had told him. He cursed himself for that. After a few different, and quite disturbing, ideas ran through his mind, he felt the warmth of sleep trying to take hold of him. He began to relax in a surrender to it. After all, the sun was up and there was no way he could accomplish anything with that. He sighed, closing his eyes and settling into a sound rest. Dreams began to fight their way through his subconscious. He rarely allowed any of his dreams to surface since the greater majority of them were the nightmares that displayed the last horriffic moments of his victims. In taking blood from a victim, he had always assumed the more powerful memories of the individual. Some were interesting, but the moment of their demise was always frightening to him. He mourned them in a small way, and had learned to keep such torments to the back of his mind. The current dream that he was living was a little different. The blood he had recently ingested was from a plastic unit. Perhaps the memories from this individual were safe to peek at.

This dream was taking place in a schoolroom, but it seemed to be in some specialized facility. He sat at a desk towards the back of the room. Ahead of him was a young girl. From the back, he could only tell that she had raven waves cascading down her shoulders. The other students around them seemed to be in their early teens, so she should have been about the same age. She turned for a moment, sensing him watching her. Dwight felt his heart stop for a second and gasp silently. The girl, this was the girl that had been with him upon awakening. She smiled for a moment and then turned back to the teacher at the head of the class. The old professor adjusted his glasses and smiled at his students.

"Okay, let's finish up the introductions, shall we? Miss NiStuart, you go next and tell us something about yourself that we should know.", the professor said as he leaned back against his desk.

The girl cleared her throat and stood slowly. She seemed to carry the air of both teacher's pet and everyone's friend all at once. He smiled, feeling himself overtaken by boyish admiration. He almost felt fully embarrassed by it.

"My name is Ceridwen Aerlinn NiStuart. I love etymology, it is the study of name meanings and origins. My name is from Celtic mythology. It was the name of three female figures, but the most common are 'the great mother' and the Welsh goddess of poetry.", she said melodically. Dwight shook away another sigh of wonder at her. What was wrong with him? He was a grown man, more grown than most. He looked to the side for a moment, catching a glimpse of himself in a nearby reflective window. He gasped loudly. Not only was his reflection visible, but he appeared to be fifteen again. He reached up and touched the side of his face in awe. He smiled brightly.

"Mr Wrenn? Is there something in the window the rest of us should know about?", the teacher's voice said as it reached through the momentary shock in the boy. Dwight cleared his throat, feeling himself blush. That was an interesting feeling, the warmth of blood rushing to his cheeks with heat and childish shame. It was wonderful. He looked at the rest of the class with a slight smile and spoke clearly as he stood.

"My name is Dwight Angus Wrenn. My family owns alot of the land here in Maine. My father is teaching me how to fly.", he said proudly. The rest of the class stared at him in something much less than enthusiasm. He frowned. Ceridwen looked up at him directly and smiled kindly. "I guess I've always loved flight and birds. I would love to have a raven."

"That would fit your name, Dwight.", Ceridwen said sweetly. He smiled and nodded towards her. "And your taste in clothing."

The rest of the class snickered. Dwight suddenly noticed that he was back in his school uniform. The Victorian-like attire must have seemed very funny to any contemporary American teenager. He frowned a little and sat down, fiddling with the silver buttons on his black jacket for a moment. He turned away as the teacher began his lecture. The class was a literature appreciation study. Dwight perked up a little. This had always been a hobby for him as a young man, and had aided him in gaining the reputation as the tender romantic that made all the local girls swoon. Then again, the fact that he was the son of the wealthiest family in the state didn't hurt either. He smiled and sat up properly, showing to both the teacher and the subject, the respect he had been taught in his school days. The professor was lecturing on an ironic writer for Dwight's current situation, Edgar Allan Poe. After a moment, the professor stopped and asked for a volunteer to read the selected passage. Dwight stood immediately and took the opened book off of his desk. He cleared his throat and recited the verses of _'The Raven' _in perfect, beautiful, tormented tones. The rest of the class looked at him in awe, but Ceridwen stared at him with an admiration that told him she expected no less. That made him feel a little disappointed and honoured at the same time. She stood and began to clap loudly as he sat back. He smiled once more. Having a dream involving the school environment was rarely pleasant for anyone, but this seemed even more enjoyable than his present state.

"So can anyone tell me why the speaker, or rather, writer felt so frightened of the raven?", the professor asked.

"Something so dark and unnatural appearing like that in the middle of the night would frighten anyone, sir. Add to that the loss of his beloved and the time of year.", Ceridwen replied. Dwight watched her, suddenly getting the impression that Ceridwen wasn't just in his dream; she was in his mind. "Anything dark and unexpected that appears so late in the evening inevitably strikes fear into the hearts of men."

"Or intrigue into the hearts of ladies.", Dwight quipped back. Ceridwen smiled and turned back towards him.

"You overestimate yourself.", she said smoothly. As he opened his mouth to give a wonderfully piquant reply, the bell began to sound harshly. He covered his ears. He hadn't heard anything this loud or sharp in ages. As the sound became too much for him to handle, he felt his eyes fly open and the physical realm centre around him once more. The room had grown much darker, no light coming through the curtains at all. Had he slept through the whole day already? He laid his head back and breathed deeply. He wanted to go back into the dream more than anything. Perhaps he would have another one similar to it if he could just see her once more. In this dream he had been something that he hadn't ever thought possible again, he had been happy. Reality began to jar away all good thoughts and feelings as the desire to flee came over him again. He went immediately over to the door and grasped the handle tightly. He drew in a deep breath and focused his strength into his back and shoulders. After a few moments of readying himself, he grunted and yanked on the doorhandle. He was sent flying backwards slightly as the door opened from the otherside. He stood against the bedpost nearest him, staring at the person that had entered.

"Sorry! I didn't see you.", Ceridwen said as she covered her mouth in shock. She moved towards him. "Are you alright?"

He stared at her in total confusion. What was wrong with this girl? Didn't she know what he could do to her? If he truly wanted her to die, then even something as powerful as the chip that had a handle over his senses couldn't hold back the terror he could unleash on humans. She must have known this, or she was ignorant, one of the two.

"Ceridwen.", he said. He hoped he had remembered the name correctly. Everything he took in was always hazy for the first few moments he was able to observe. Even in getting a victim to trust him, it took more than a few brief moments. She smiled and nodded to him. He breathed a sigh of relief. His senses were fully returning after all. "What is this place? Where am I?", he said moving towards her, focusing his eyes into hers. Ceridwen stared back, but her eyes did not begin to glisten with hypnotic charm as any of his female victims did. He really didn't want to kill her at the moment, but he did want to be in total control. He frowned and moved even closer, still focusing.

Ceridwen smiled. "Personal reformists like myself are selected because are brainwaves can withstand hypnosis like yours.", she said as she sensed his motives. "We're in Bangor, Maine for the time being. This mansion once belonged to your family, maybe it will again. Until you're a little more stable, you'll have to stay in this room. Is there anything I can bring you in the meantime? A book or something?"

He began to glare at her furiously. He snarled, then reeled backwards holding onto his head. He cried out in pain and knelt, trembling slightly. Ceridwen remained standing where she was, but shifted in concern towards him. She stopped herself, remembering her training. Even if the chip was in use to the point that it sent them into a seizure, she was not to touch him. Any time it became a medical issue, she was to go and get the emergency medical personel with them and make sure that he couldn't hurt himself in the meantime. It was the advice given to any person in the event of something like a seizure, and it tore at the hearts of compassionate people like her. She stayed standing watching him. Dwight looked up at her as the pain subsided. She looked completely unsure of herself. He had absoloutely no power over her. He growled more furiously, she was useless to him and had to die. He snarled and moved towards her again, screaming and falling forward as excruciating pain gripped him. Ceridwen's heart raced madly. He was truly suffering right now. This was what was commonly referred to in the field as 'beginner's fits'. A new subject often felt very threatened and would lash out against the pain that the chip induced, even to the point of being sent into siezures, heart attacks, or merciful unconsciousness. Ceridwen noticed that his eyes were beginning to spin slightly. Panic took her. She opened the door and shouted desperately for the emergency personel.

Ceridwen tried to remember the odd word that her teacher in relaxation methods had taught her to shout to a person going into a fit. It was also handy in repeating as a mantra. She straightened up as she remembered it. She filled her diaphragm with as much air as she could and opened her mouth. Instead of the word '_panyarama_' escaping her lips, an inhuman howl echoed from her vocal chords. Dwight froze and stared at her. Was that a trick of somekind, or was this girl screaming like an animal? She stopped for a moment, shaking. She leaned forward, then grabbed hold of one of the bedposts and grunted several times in pain. Dwight moved backwards and watched. Ceridwen knelt forward and began to cry loudly, gripping her belly desperately. In fact, she seemed to be clawing at herself. He gasped as she looked up at him, her eyes seemed to be as wild as his. She snarled at him, revealing what would typically be called fangs. He stared at her in confusion. She didn't smell like another vampire. She fell to the floor and began writhing slightly, still howling. Dwight suddenly caught the scent and feeling that she was in danger, physical danger.

Being a hardened killer himself, he wasn't in the habit of calling for help. Seeing her in his dream the night before made watching her suffer like this unbearable. She didn't deserve to die in pain like this. He had killed people that truly did deserve to die, but she wouldn't have been one of the selections he would have made by any standard. He knelt over her and took hold of her shoulders, trying to keep her still as he called for help. He looked up. The door was unlocked and open. He could leave now and pretend this had never happened. He could even feed on that young man that had left the blood in his room the night before. He smiled and released his grip on Ceridwen. As he began to stand, she let out a long, and this time very human, scream. He instinctively turned back to her. She looked up at him desperately and reached for his shoulder. Pity washed over him. He moved to try and help her onto the bed. As he lifted her with her head leaning against his shoulder, he heard a guttural growl. He froze and looked down. Ceridwen snarled loudly and bit into the muscle below his shoulder.

Dwight screamed in agony at the bite, then again as he felt the chip's electronic discipline surging through him. The two collapsed on the floor as Jeremy and three of the medical operatives entered the room. The three rushed over to help Dwight first and foremost. Jeremy growled and shoved the man out of the way, alerting them to Ceridwen's current state. She knelt, a few feet away from them, growling madly. Jeremy frowned and drew a small gun from his belt. He fired it quickly into her shoulder. Ceridwen howled and grabbed her shoulder. She leaned backwards against the nightstand, catching her breath. She looked up at Jeremy and the operatives that stood in front of her. Her eyes had transmorphed back into their compassionate jade hue. She felt a wave of tears at thinking she might have hurt the person she came here to help. She raced towards him. Jeremy caught her by the arms and led her out of the room. He looked down at her, making sure there were no wounds from Dwight on her. She frowned and clutched Jeremy tightly.

"I think I really hurt him.", she whispered. "I've never hurt someone before."

"You're not as stable as you think, Ceri. I think maybe you should leave this assignment to James and go back to the academy for a while.", Jeremy offered. "Dad says that it might take a few more months of actually being around vampires before you can handle them."

"I'm fine. I just need to remember to take the formula more regularly at times like these, that's all.", she said firmly as she composed herself. "He needs me. I haven't had a chance to prove my theories yet and I really think that he is the perfect candidate for it."

"He seems more like the perfect subject for that experimental incenerator that Dr. Drakeman just completed.", Jeremy muttered.

Cerdiwen glared at him. "Do not ever say something like that again while we are here, do you understand me?", she said nearly growling again. Jeremy knew that there were certain instances where it was best to agree with Ceridwen or make peace with God. He nodded slightly. "Good. I will go and try to rest for a little while before completing the next session with the rest of the team. Tonight they need to know about proper feeding charts."

"My favourite subject.", Jeremy said as he rolled his eyes and led his sister towards the stairs. Ceridwen turned her head back towards the room once more. She frowned. She prayed desperately that she hadn't just undone any miniscule amount of good that they had already accomplished.


	4. The Mark of a Professional

Chapter 4: The Mark of a Proffessional

Dwight hid from any dreams that tried to take him while he remained unconscious. He awoke sometime after the attack, a soft orange glow coming through the darkened glass and curtain. He frowned. Was Ceridwen a vampire like himself? She didn't smell like one, or look like one when she had bitten him. He thought deeply for a moment. She seemed to be more out of control at that moment than he had during any of his fits of rage. She seemed positively primal. Then again, being out of his right mind and body, Dwight had never really known what he was like during his fits. All he knew was that there was blood and screaming, more of it than he had ever seen in his years as a human. Dwight had seen the first of two worl wars when he had been alive. He remembered the reactions of his friends and family to the horror stories that came back from the foriegn battallions. He had wanted to go off to Germany as a pilot, but had been denied because of being the only son of his mother and father. He remembered the argument he had with the enlistment officer. He had even been tempted to lie his way in, but the sound of his mother's voice kept ringing through his mind.

In fact, it was his surviving family that had kept him in Maine for so long after his transformation. He had stayed to watch over his parents, never allowing them to see him. His mother died some three years after his disappearance. When the authorities declared him to be dead after finding his flight jacket covered in blood, Eleanora Wrenn collapsed with a massive coronary. The story being that her heart rent in two at finally realizing her son was gone. Angus Wrenn, his father, had lived into his sixties and then passed away in his sleep. Dwight had been beside himself. He felt responsible for both of his parents' deaths. Not to mention the fact that his father died alone and quite possibly very lonely. It was all his fault, all of their suffering. A week later, Dwight had relocated himself into the far north in the midwest. Strange occurances weren't unheard of there; travelers went missing all the time. It had gone well with him for several years, but then a few researchers and the liberal media began to hone in on the patterned activities in his area.

He fled back to the east coast and started a routine pattern up and down the numerous small airfields. At the start he had been very careful to hide his work, but he felt something else truly taking hold of him. He didn't just try and take blood anymore, he craved the feeling of anhilating the beings he took. Dwight had already hated what he was, but now he felt disgust towards his exsistance in a more pronounced way than ever. He had been meticulous about never turning any of his victims. Myths that he had read told him that the bite of a vampire turned a human into one. It was how he had become one. To prevent this, he often employed decapitating the person. This worked out well considering the fact that it made blood consumption more easy for him. He realized that during his moments of hunger or instinct, he became a seperate person. He felt it. After a good fifty years of being a monster, he had simply accepted the fact that something else was taking him when it needed to. There was no way for him to fight it, there was no way for him to undo it. He would simply do his best to keep people from being harmed in his conscious hours. The incident with Ceridwen was truly perplexing. Why had such a kind natured girl attacked him? She was obviously not in the habit of violence, not even in her speaking habits. He sat on the edge of the bed, holding onto his shoulder. His race was very capable of healing quickly from wounds, but that did not mean there was no pain. Being so young by comparison to other vampires also meant that it took Dwight a considerably longer amount of time to heal. He sighed heavily and rubbed his arm pensively. Was Ceridwen ill with something? He stopped and shook his head. Why on earth did he care? She was nothing, perhaps even less than that. He couldn't control her, and she would definitely refuse to help him with escaping. She needed to die. The others did as well, but Ceridwen deserved a somewhat more humane death. She was innocent.

The door creaked open slightly. He turned. Ceridwen's unmistakable eyes glowed at him for a moment. He stood and stared at her. She cleared her throat and entered the room, locking the door behind her. She stood pressed back against the door itself, almost afraid to approach Dwight. This was odd. Even with seeing him snarling at her, she had never been afraid of him. Then again, there was no indication that she had ever seen him in vampiric form. He breathed deeply and nodded to her.

"Are you alright?", she asked softly.

"Yes.", he replied emotionlessly.

"I apologize.", she said looking away. "I've never done something like that before."

"I could tell.", he muttered rubbing the healing wound again. "What caused that?"

"It's not important. I still need to know if there's anything I can do to make you a little more comfortable."

"You might start by telling me what it was that attacked me.", he continued. Ceridwen looked up at him. He could see a twinge of anger in her eyes. "It's only right that I know what can hurt me while I'm here."

"I've _never_ hurt anyone!", she shouted. He stepped backwards. Ceridwen looked down and breathed deeply, clenching her hands together in front of her. He frowned and pulled his sleeve away from his arm, revealing the mark she had inflicted.

"Never? Then you're a natural because this is the mark of a professional.", he mused.

"How dare you.", she growled... literally. Dwight smiled. There was something inhuman inside her. Perhaps something similar to his. He could use that to his advantage. She stepped closer. Dwight noticed that the yellow in her green eyes began to glow more brightly. "You have no right to condemn me."

"I didn't. I just made an observation about your talent.", he said with a smile. "I find it amusing that someone who obviously has so much in common with me is trying so hard to keep it dormant. I've learned to utilize my skills."

"You've adapted to the violent nature of the disease, and not very well. There's no skill in that.", Ceridwen retorted. Dwight glared at her.

"You think you're better than me.", he hissed. "You really think that you, and you alone, are qualified to face me blamelessly."

Ceridwen looked away. "I've had more control than you have.", she said softly.

"Then show me where I left my mark on you.", he growled back. Ceridwen looked away, breathing heavily. Dwight frowned at her and stepped a little closer to her. "Why should I trust you if you aren't able to trust either of us?"

"I never said I didn't trust you.", Ceridwen argued. Dwight lifted one brow inquisitively. "And I certainly trust myself."

"Really? Then why cover up the details. You said you're here to help me. Help me what?"

"Live as comfortably and normally as possible among others.", she explained calmly.

"Like you?"

"Exactly.", she said with a smile. He nodded and walked forward until he stood a mere three feet in front of her.

"So all I need to do is ignore what I am.", he reasoned aloud. Ceridwen frowned and glared at him. "It seems to be working well for you. Or, at least, well enough. I should still expect to have an outburst from time to time, shouldn't I?"

"Last night was an accident. It will not happen again.", she growled. He smiled slightly. "I will ask you one last time, is there anything I can do for you?"

He smiled and moved to take her hand. Ceridwen stepped backwards, still growling in the back of her throat. Dwight moved to her left, trying to take hold of her. He seemed to only want to touch her, not harm her or have his way with her. Still, Ceridwen was in no mood for any affection, least of all from him. She moved away from him, taking a few steps to the right as he circled. He now stood with the door behind him and Ceridwen in front of him facing it. He smiled brightly. Ceridwen watched his expression carefully. Her eyes went wide as she realized what she had just done and what he was going to do. The number one rule of confrontations as a personal reformist was to never let a subject get between them and the door. She moved towards him. He reached out and quickly took hold of her, forcing her to face away from him as he held her even with his form. He smiled and leaned down to her ear.

"You expect others to control what rages hungrily inside them. What about your own hunger?", he purred. "Is it blood you thirst for, or superiority?"

"I thirst for the betterment of humanity.", Ceridwen snarled.

Dwight chuckled and moved his other hand to her neck, allowing it to rest against her throbbing jugular vein. Ceridwen breathed deeply and tried to scream. Dwight grabbed her throat and held tightly. Ceridwen silenced and looked from side to side nervously. He leaned towards the other ear.

"Do you really think that you are noble at your core? Whatever it is that lurks in your shadows has its own ideas; its own goals; its own desires.", he said huskily. Ceridwen frowned and tried to break free of him. He held on more tightly and began to press down on her vein, making pain and darkness cover her world. She gagged and clawed at his wrist. "I don't know what you are, but I know at least part of what you can do. Perhaps, we could combine our efforts."

"No.", she coughed.

"Pity.", he said as he pressed down tighter and felt her go limp in his arms. "Then it is left for me to make you see reason."

He dropped her onto the floor and went towards the door. As he unlocked it, he heard voices outside. He listened carefully. Two men were discussing a program they had seen on television, but nothing significant. He breathed quietly and waited for the two to continue down the hallway. Dwight undid the lock on the door and forced it open. He smiled as he looked down the hall either way. He raced from the room and headed for the lowest level of the house. He could feel that there was a level below ground. Since there had still been daylight outside, he would be unable to leave for several hours. He slipped past three more men and made his way into a small dark room in the downstairs main hallway. Inside, there were mops and so on that must have been cleaning supplies. He sighed and curled up on the floor. This was demeaning, but at least he would be free soon. He sighed and laid his head back against the wall. As his eyes closed and he allowed himself to relax, he felt himself drifting into an involuntary dream. He opened his eyes and looked around. He groaned loudly. He was back at the desk in the schoolroom once more. Ceridwen sat at her desk, turned around and facing him. She glared angrily at him. Something told him that she hadn't been finished with their conversation and, being the woman, she needed the last word.


	5. Ceridwen's Story

Chapter 5: The Story of Ceridwen

"Alright everyone, I'm going to give an overview of the past few weeks before I hand out the assigned studies.", the teacher announced. He strode over to the other side of the room and began to lecture, writing a few words and numbers on a blackboard every now and then. After a few moments, the loudspeaker in the classroom announced that all professors in the literature and language department were needed in the administrator's office for a moment. "I'll be back after a moment. No one leaves the room and no one kills each other, comprende?"

The class acknowledged the man's statement as he left the room. Ceridwen turned back to Dwight and glared at him.

"What in God's name is wrong with you? Do you want me to fail? Do you want to get me in trouble?", she demanded.

"I didn't even do anything to you!", Dwight said defensively. "I've been sitting here this whole time!"

"Don't be a moron! You know good and well what you did!"

Dwight groaned and turned away. He placed his chin on his hand as he rested his elbow against the surface of his desk. "You're acting like a silly girl.", he muttered. Ceridwen grabbed his elbow and yanked it out from under him. His chin collided with the desk. "Ow! Hey!"

"Acting like a silly girl is a far cry better than acting like a brainless parasite! You over-stepped your boundaries, Dwight Renfield! Do you know what the bureau will do to you if you don't prove yourself now?", she said angrily. "You've just undone in a matter of seconds what it has taken me months to try and accomplish on your behalf!"

"It's not my fault you've got yourself all wrapped up in something stupid. I do not want to be here!", Dwight shouted back. "This whole _project_ of yours has been complete bull-"

"Shhhh!", someone near them said urgently as the teacher came back into the room. The class turned back towards the man as he stood in front of the group.

"Students, I'm very sorry to tell you that class has been cancelled for the rest of the day. I'll hand you your study assignments as you leave. Go with your partners and head back to your dormitories. Co-ed groups please stay in the main rooms below the dorms. Don't make me give anyone a speech on appropriate behaviour for boys and girls.", the man said as he approached the door. The rest of the class snickered and waited as he took the stack of assignments from his desk. The papers were in order of highest grade to lowest. "Okay, first on the grade scale. I think everyone knows this one; Ceridwen NiStuart."

Dwight was surprised to hear the snickering and soft jeering that occurred at the mention of her name. As much as she made him angry, Ceridwen was still beautiful and obviously quite intelligent. He frowned. Apparently even in the future, school children didn't appreciate the smarter of the peers. Ceridwen stood and walked over to the man, accepting the piece of paper with a kind smile. She looked down at it and frowned.

"Dwight Wrenn?", she read aloud. Dwight smiled and got up, heading towards her quickly. Even though she was a nuissance at the moment, it was still wonderful to have the power to make her angry. "Professor, I really don't think this is a good idea."

"Thank you Ceridwen. I think it's a great idea, too. You're intelligence and Dwight's... _unique_ sense of humour.", the man said as he adjusted his glasses and handed another piece of paper to the young man beside Ceridwen. Dressed terribly by comparison to the other students, Dwight recieved his own share of snickering. To the which he turned and smiled to the rest of the students.

"Alright. Let's hear it. I have a few moments. Anyone have anything to say?", he said loudly to the rest of the class. The boy at the farthest right corner stood, still snickering.

"You look like a fruit.", the boy said cruelly. Dwight stared at him.

"That wasn't what I was looking for.", Dwight said approaching the boy. "I don't care what you think about me. I've read what little content there is to your mind, and I have more than ample reason to kill you in your sleep. I was hoping you could tell me why everyone thinks it's so funny to laugh at an intelligent girl like Ceridwen." The boy stared back at Dwight as he inched closer to the boy's face, glaring into his soul with rage. "Even putting her beauty aside, you're still left with the intellect of a classical poet. Is it jealousy, or primal stupidity that fuels your hatred? Either is a good excuse to exercise the principals of fascism on the majority of this pathetic student community. My warning to you is this, laugh at her one more time and you'll wake to find your celestial entity floating mournfully over your own body after you've drowned in your own blood."

"Mr Wrenn!", the professor shouted as the boy sat down, trembling. Dwight smiled and strode calmly back over to the man. "Kindly keep your speech limited to edifying other students while in my classroom.", the man corrected sternly. Dwight said nothing as he accepted the paper with the assignment. The man leaned down towards him for a moment. "Take him out when he's not expecting it."

Dwight chuckled and nodded. Ceridwen groaned and grabbed him by his sleeve, pulling him harshly into the hallway. She sighed and looked back and forth as other students began to walk down the halls.

"Well, if nothing else this dream still allows me the upperhand in practically everything.", he mused. Ceridwen smacked the side of his head.

"Stop it. There's more going on here than I think you understand, Dwight.", she said almost sadly. "Come with me, I'll explain to you the details." He shrugged and followed her out to a fountain that bubbled happily in the school's courtyard. Dwight didn't recognize this school, but it appeared to be a university of somekind, not nearly meant for the age groups he had seen. Ceridwen sat down on the edge of the fountian and patted the cement beside her, signaling for him to do the same. Dwight sat down, bending one knee in front of him and resting the leg on the cement in front of him. He placed one hand casually over it and smiled at her. Ceridwen sighed and pulled her hair behind her ears. "Dwight, how much do you really know about what you are?"

"The important things. Classic properties, and all that. I need to stay out of sunlight, keep a part of my grave with me, and take blood when I hunger. I have the ability to charm humans and utilize unnatural strength.", he said proudly. He raised a brow to her. "Is there another power that I'm forgetting?"

"Those things aren't powers. You are, sadly, about as learned as an average human about this condition. The only difference being that you know the things firsthand and are also aware that religious symbols and so on bear no hold over your condition.", she said looking down. "The sad truth is this, Dwight, you are the only vampire of your generation left. All others that have a current condition that requires the aid of our bureau are either older than three hundred years or less than fifty. Between those two ages is considered somewhat of an adolescent period for your race. Up until the late seventy's, all vampires found were simply killed unless they already exhibited reformed characteristics."

Dwight stared at her in disbelief. She shook her head.

"They killed somewhere between four and five thousand people that suffered from the disease in five years. How is that any better than a vampire, I ask you?", she said looking up angrily. Dwight simply stared back blankly. Ceridwen waved her hand and breathed deeply. "I'm sorry to rant like that, but that kind of thing is exactly the reason why I am hell-bent on helping people like you. No one deserves to die because of something they can't control. No one." As Ceridwen finished her statement that explained her true feelings, she trailed off into a whisper. Dwight noticed tears forming in her eyes. He frowned and reached into his pocket where his mother had always demanded he keep a handkerchief. He scooted closer to her and, without warning, put his left hand behind her head and used the right to wipe away her tears with the handkerchief. She looked towards him in concern and surprise. She pulled away and looked down with slight embarrassment. "Thank you."

"What happened to you? Why do you care what happens to me? There's obviously something lurking in you, but what? What is your story?", he asked. Ceridwen shook her head and refused to look up towards him. He frowned. "You already know most of my story, it's only fair to tell me about you."

She sighed. "I was born into a large family in southwestern Scotland. I had two older brothers and an older sister, then one younger brother and two younger sisters.", she said. "Our family was very happy and very well-off. We were once royalty among the native clansmen. My mother was a historian and my father was a journalist. He brought home wonderful stories, always. I was only five when it happened, but I still remember so much of the past."

"What happened?", he urged. Ceridwen breathed deeply, fighting back more tears.

"My father was researching a pack of wild dogs near our town. They seemed to be acting strangely with the addition of a new alpha male according to the biologist that had been observing them.", she smiled slightly. "It was revealed that the alpha male was in fact an alpha _female_ and she was fully in heat. My father laughed about the story and accompanied the biologist to some kind of reception. I'm not sure of the details that surrounded the event, but I know what the biologist turned out to be. He, himself, was an animal. He attacked my father. My father survived with only a minor bite to his shoulder. The hospital treated it quickly. When he came home, all of the family gathered in our parents' bedroom to hear him spin his latest yarn." She frowned and allowed several tears to descend down her cheeks.

"My father seemed to be struggling with his words. He fainted. As mother tended to him, the sun went down. I remember it, Dwight. I watched from the corner of the room with my eldest younger sister, Lucille. My father's eyes went wild. His teeth grew and he snarled angrily at the sky. His skin went dark with hair and his ears grew. Mother screamed and tried to hurry all of us out the door. My father tore into all of us that night. We were all bitten, even my youngest sister and mother. He killed all of my brothers and two of my sisters. Mother, Lucille, and I were the only survivors. We managed to escape the house and tell the authorities. The bureau works very closely with all European nations, but the UK and far eastern Europe seem to have the greatest incidents of preternatural activity. The authorites gave us some kind of vaccination that would keep us calm. We were detained while they disposed of my father. They kept us for a month. On the first night of the full moon, my small family transformed for the first time."

Dwight watched as Ceridwen began to shake. "Lucille and I were frightened of what we were, so we hid in the corner of the room they had given the three of us. At hearing the commotion, two of the operatives entered the room. They saw my mother standing there, growling like a crazed beast." Ceridwen breathed even deeper as her voice began to crack. "Silver nitrate, it stops the hormone lycangrophine that gives rise to the disease in all were creatures. Unfortunately, it also causes brain hemmhoragging. My mother died painlessly."

Dwight looked down and took Ceridwen's hand carefully. She moved away and cleared her throat.

"One of the bureau's founders came to inquire of the case and found out about my sister and I before they had a chance to euthanize us.", she said. Dwight felt a small wave of relief that the girls had both been spared, but a twinge of anger at the thought that people had been cruel enough to think for a moment about destroying the children. "It was an unusual case. Most humans, specifically females, do not survive attacks by lycans and certainly can't physically handle the changes. Most die, that is why the ones that do survive are either vicious killers or somewhat immune to the rage that comes from the hormone. Lucy was given to the professor himself to study in Europe while I was sent to Dr. Stephen Gamaliel here in the United States. He is a good father to me. Jeremy is his son, he has taken care of me like any of my brothers would have."

Dwight put a hand comfortingly on her shoulder. His story was similar, but perhaps not nearly so full of loss. He frowned and stroked her shoulder, trying to think of the right thing to say to her. She looked up at him. Some of the animal within her glaring at him.

"I have never been in the front lines of a reform case before. I have always been on the supply or data collection teams. This is my chance to prove that my theories about the goodness in both our species are correct. I will react to your presence from time to time when you start to transform. You see, you release a pharimone that creates a reaction in the lycangrophine. Since vampires are a natural enemy, my DNA goes on the immediate defensive."

"But you didn't look like a werewolf, you didn't even sound like one.", Dwight argued. Ceridwen smiled slightly.

"What makes you think a wolf has anything to do with what I've told you?", she said. Dwight scooted backwards as Ceridwen began to purr. His eyes widened. "You want to know what attacked you? It was a cat."

Dwight smiled slightly. "There's were_cats_? I never knew that.", he said.

"There are a plethora of things that you don't yet know.", Ceridwen laughed. She looked directly into his eyes and focused her warm compassion into him. "Dwight, I cannot let this fall through. I want to help you. I don't know why, but your story spoke volumes to me. I know this isn't a path you would have chosen." Dwight frowned and looked away. He breathed calmly and tried to filter all of the options in front of him out into the best and possibly most comfortable course of action. Ceridwen took his chin in her hand and held his face in front of hers. "Dwight, don't let yourself end up dying dejected and alone. It isn't what your father wanted for himself and it certainly isn't what he wanted for you."

He frowned and looked sternly into her face. "Alright. I agree to give this a chance.", he said. Ceridwen smiled brightly and moved to stand. Dwight grabbed her arm and held her still. "However; if I feel that it's starting to get stupid, cruel, wierd, or impossible, I reserve the right to a head start before anyone comes after me."

Ceridwen turned her head to the side and thought for a moment. She smiled again and turned back to face him. "Deal.", she said holding out her hand to him. Dwight took her hand gently and shook it for a moment. He stopped and stared at it. He smiled. She had soft, pale, perfect hands like his mother. He pulled her hand to him, turning it over, and softly kissed her wrist. Ceridwen looked at him in shock. He looked up at her, confused. She suddenly opened her mouth and let out a blood-curdling scream. Dwight jumped backwards and felt himself fall through several feet of ice-cold air until landing harshly on the floor.


	6. Dwight's Story

Chapter 6: Dwight's Story

Dwight felt his senses focus into the realm of consciousness again. He breathed deeply and sat up fully. He had forgotten how badly his joints reacted every time he slept in a tight position like this. It was this fact that made him usually leave the plane during the day and go into a home where there was a basement or secluded room, when it was available to him. He groaned and stood, feeling each bone crackle with a stern reprimand against his flawed escape attempt. He sighed and stretched for a moment. He could hear some talking outside the door. He jumped backwards as someone knocked loudly on the wall near the door in front of him. His eyes darted back and forth for a moment, unsure of what to do. His heart calmed as a familiar voice spoke to him.

"Mr. Wrenn? The curtain's been replaced. Ceridwen told us to come and get you when the window was covered enough for you again. Are you alright? She said you were pretty shaken after the sun started to come up with that panel gone.", the one that Ceridwen called Jeremy said.

Dwight inhaled with relief and then leaned against the wall for a brief moment. That was some very quick and clever thinking that Ceridwen had done. She must have really wanted to help him, not to mention she undoubtedly had the same snappy intellect that she had when she had been a young girl. Come to think of it, even with his keen sense of smell, Dwight couldn't tell her age. He shrugged this off as being due to the fact he hadn't been around her long enough to decipher it. He opened the door carefully. Jeremy stood waiting for him. He didn't look at all like Ceridwen save for the colour of his hair. Jeremy seemed to be less than enthusiastic about being in the room at the moment. His expression almost looked irritated at being forced to come and retrieve the man. Dwight stared at him for a moment until he was sure that Jeremy wasn't playing at something else. Jeremy motioned for Dwight to follow him back towards his room.

"I have to tell you, I was really concerned when Ceridwen told us that you had an episode because of the window being exposed.", Jeremy said as they walked up the stairs.

"There's no cause for alarm. I'm fine.", Dwight said calmly. Jeremy turned around as both of them stepped onto the landing. He grabbed Dwight by the collar and slammed him into the wall.

"I never said I was concerned about you, you bucktoothed leech-weasel. I can tell when Ceri's lying to help someone that everyone else hates. It wasn't the window that needed covering, it was your butt. So help me, if you hurt her at all, I will personally see that you die a slower and more painful death than anything that's been explored by medical science to this date.", Jeremy growled. Dwight stared at him, feeling a rage welling in the back of his mind. The thought that he hadn't dealt with pain from an attempted transformation in hours crossed his mind. It felt good to have not recovered from a massive fit of convulsions and agony. He fought off the overwhelming urge to rip out the young man's throat with his teeth and simply drew in a sharp breath, squeezing his eyes closed. "Am I clear, pal?"

"Absoloutely.", Dwight said with a slight smile. Jeremy growled and pushed him further into the wall.

"Jeremiah!", Ceridwen exclaimed from behind the two. Jeremy turned and released his grip on his charge for a moment.

"There. Safe and sound, no harm no foul, right pal?", Jeremy asked smacking Dwight's arm with feigned playfulness. "Your move, Ceri."

"Go and get me the paperwork for the end of this past week.", Ceridwen ordered sternly. Jeremy nodded. He turned and glared at Dwight once more before heading back down the stairs. Ceridwen smiled kindly at Dwight and motioned for them to walk towards his room. "Ironically, since you _proved_ to the rest of the team that you simply sought shelter when you felt _threatened_, you have the privelege of free run of the house during the night while everyone can suprevise you. Better?"

"Getting there. It will be far better when I'm not being treated like a criminal or a child.", he muttered and as he entered the room. Ceridwen smiled and stepped into the room behind him.

"Dwight, has it escaped your mind that murder is a _crime_ and that you are still in the infant stages of vampiric development?", she said.

Dwight turned and stared at her. "The first thing you said made sense, the second was completely beyond my reach.", he said scratching his head. He stopped at feeling the bandage had been removed. His eyes lit up. Ceridwen frowned and patted his arm as she walked past him.

"Don't get excited. The device is still there, but the wound has fully healed.", she said calmly. Dwight growled a little, taking another deep breath to stave off a transmorphing. Ceridwen turned to him and smiled brightly. "You're learning as quickly as I'd hoped. That's wonderful considering that I have impossible standards to meet."

"I'm sure that was meant to be a compliment somehow.", he muttered as he sat down on the edge of the bed, cracking one shoulder. Ceridwen winced. Dwight turned his head to the right, feeling another series of crackles and popping in his neck. Ceridwen looked at him in a mixture of shock and disgust. "I forgot how incredibly uncomfortable small places are for me. It's funny, I still hurt when things like that happen to me even though I'm dead."

Ceridwen rolled her eyes and grunted in frustration as she walked over to him. "Ignorance ceased to be amusing for me when I was twelve.", she muttered and took a seat beside him. He stared at her for a moment as she reached up and took his head in both her hands. Before he could say anything she lifted his jaw and jerked his head quickly to either side, casuing two enormous 'pop's. "You're not dead, but your system is functioning much differently than an average human's. Maybe this would be a good time for you to ask any questions you have about the condition."

Dwight moved his neck as she pulled her hands back. There was no pain or stiffness now, and he could move his head silently. He smiled and looked down at her. "How did you do that?"

"I studied natural healing as well as vampirology. Massage and chiropracty are part of the territory.", she said with a smile. She reached down and took his upper arm in both hands, cracking it to either side as well. Dwight was shocked at how quickly she could simply work out any kinks in his joints. Ceridwen had more to her than she was letting on. "Firstly, you must always remember that you are not dead, or cursed, or doomed. You're just suffering from a terminal illness. It's essentially no different than many of the other diseases that kill people every year."

"Why can't I stay out in sunlight?", he asked as she moved to his other side and took his other arm.

"Your body has ceased to produce the majority of the melanin it once did. It's the hormone that gives your skin colour and protects you from sunlight's damage for the most part. You won't dissentegrate from exposure to the sun, but more than a fw minutes of direct sun will cause severe radiation poisoning for any vampire. Some of the eastern kind can remain in hte sun substantially longer, but not by much.", she explained as she lifted the arm and jerked it to either side. Dwight cringed at the sounds. "Anything else?"

"Why do I have to drink the blood I need? Is there some way for me to recieve it through an injection or something?", he asked as she moved behind him. Ceridwen reached up to the base of his head and rested both hands against his neck.

"An experiment was conducted in the late autumn of nineteen eighty one. Three vampires were given blood through an intraveinous method.", Ceridwen said. She sighed heavily. "Unfortunately, it was discovered that the nutrients and fluids needed to be absorbed by the stomach and intestine. The subjects nearly died. You can request to take the blood nutrients in capsule form, but you would still need to ingest the plasma."

Dwight groaned. He stopped making noise altogether as Ceridwen began softly stroking the back of his head. He remained still and waited for a moment. This was almost soothing. He shifted for a moment and then smiled. Pretending to cooperate for a few weeks might be more rewarding than he had considered. He hadn't been priveleged to female companionship for sometime. He had read in every vampiric fiction he'd run accross that all vampires were sexy and irresistable, even in their alternate form. Dwight had never been able to see what he looked like when he changed, but gaging the reactions it was not nearly as handsome as the classic _Dracula_ or even as simple as the original _Nosferatu_. He wanted to see what he looked like, but part of him loathed the idea of seeing the monster he had become. He breathed deeply and felt Ceridwen place a hand on either shoulder.

"I take it you're not married.", he said. Ceridwen frowned and moved off of the bed to standing in front of him.

"I am single, caucasian, age twenty-two. Those are my 'stats'. I would advise you to not get any more personal with your questions for me.", she said sternly. Dwight moved back a little. Ceridwen looked away slightly and inhaled sharply, clutching her chest. "I'm sorry. Every month I have a few nights and days where everything is on edge for me."

"Then there isn't much different about you than before you became a werecat.", he offered as he stood and took a step towards her. Ceridwen chuckled.

"I suppose the greatest difference is that I will actually kill if this isn't treated. PMS just makes me _want_ to slaughter senselessly.", she joked. He smiled. She looked up at him. "It will be interesting to actually see you progress in person. This is all relatively new to me as far as the experience goes."

"Do you have any questions for me?", he said softly. Ceridwen looked to the side and then directly into his eyes.

"What exactly is your story? I know that you were born as the sole child of a wealthy New England couple and then you were treated for polio as a boy. Aside from the fact that you were a pilot and your recent history, I don't know very much about you.", Ceridwen admitted. "What did you do before you were turned? How did you come to be this way?"

He sighed and sat back down, clutching his right knee pensively. "My parents were the richest land owners in Maine back in the nineteen hundreds. When I was found to have the illness in this leg, they wasted no time in treating it. My mother was constantly babying me, convinced that she would lose me at any given moment if I was out of earshot. My father helped tone that down a little. Against her wishes, he taught me how to fly small aircraft. It was amazing. We even owned our own plane, _Helene_. A soft blue craft with white piping. I still remember my first take-off.", he explained with a warm smile. Ceridwen sat back down on the bed beside him. He began to laugh a little. "I remember once, on Halloween, a few of my friends dared me to fly her over Old Maid Slocumb's house to scare the hate out of her. She stayed as mean as ever after I did it, but I still remember the old cow running outside in the middle of the night screaming _'Jesus is coming! I'm going to hell!'_ She ran for almost a mile!", Dwight laughed. Ceridwen stared at him in disbelief. Dwight cleared his throat. "I suppose it was a little sophmoric, but it scarred me for life."

"How did a prank against an old woman scar you?", Ceridwen asked in confusion.

"I found out that the old hag slept in the nude.", he explained. Ceridwen cried out in disgust and held either side of her head as he laughed again.

"Oh great! Now that image has burned itself into my brain!", she cried playfully. Dwight laughed and took her hands away from her head. "Surely she wasn't the one that turned you?"

"No.", Dwight said. He stopped moving for a moment, breathing silently. Ceridwen looked closely at him. He looked away. "No, it was someone else."

"I take it that it was someone you knew.", Ceridwen said cautiously. Dwight frowned and squeezed his eyes closed. Ceridwen reached up to touch his face, but Dwight moved away. If he was going to tell this story then at least he would do it with dignity. He turned to her and glared at her cruelly.

"You are not to repeat what I tell you to another living soul without my permission. Speak one word of it without my consent and I will tear you apart.", he growled. Ceridwen stared back in fear. Dwight didn't have the presence of mind to realize that she had never behaved around him like this before. There was an intensity in his eyes that told Ceridwen he was dangerous if crossed right now. She nodded quickly. He grabbed her shoulders tightly, holding her prisoner in front of him. "Say it, swear it to me."

"I promise never to utter _anything_ you say to me unless you give me permission otherwise, Dwight.", she said quietly. He softened his growl into a calm sigh and nodded to her. He released her shoulders and stood, walking over to the thick curtains that had recently been replaced.

"My father taught me to fly at fifteen. I really wanted to fight the Germans as a pilot in the war, but they refused to let me. I was the only son, after all. I thought about lying my way in, but I couldn't do that to my mother. My father thought my ambition to fly for a living was silly. He wanted me to get into real estate and land appraising like all of the rest of the family. Classic case of young rebellion on behalf of reckless ambition, I suppose. One of the men my father worked closely with became a confidant of mine. The man's name was Dilbert Lindman, an accountant that had some peculiar habits. He only worked in the evenings and never stayed long at the dinner parties my mother held. I found him intriguing.", he mused as he began to pace back and forth in front of the window. "For six years, Dilbert was my best friend. I visited him late at night, even flew him to some areas he had wanted to visit during the night. The dangers of flying at night back then were far greater, so that was another little rebellion of mine. My father finally told me one night that he had secured a place for me at Yale where I could study for the family business just as he had done. I flew into a fit of rage."

Ceridwen watched Dwight's face twist in agony and his eyes flood with the start of tears.

"I told my father and mother that all they had ever done for me was treat me like an invalid, like a child. I told them they didn't know me, and they didn't love me." He swallowed hard for a moment. "I told them I had no love for them, either. My father told me to leave and not come back until I had my head together and was ready to act like a man. My mother was beside herself in tears. I left and went straight to Dilbert's home. He welcomed me, of course, and I gave him all the details of what had transpired. Dilbert told me that he would gladly take me in and make me his apprentice; that he had been planning to do so for some time. I laughed and replied that I had no interest in math."

Dwight's expression began to show an unusual emotion, fear. Ceridwen watched as he stood perfectly still, facing her.

"He said that math was not his life, not in his blood. Then... he changed. His teeth grew and his face wrinkled into an unnatural scowl. His eyes, they were wild with bloodlust. They turned black as he snarled at me. I was completely shocked and paralyzed with fear. I had never seen anything like this.", Dwight whispered. "He attacked me. He tore into my chest, ripped apart my flight jacket as I fought to get away. Finally, he wrestled me to the floor and bit into the lowest part of my neck."

Ceridwen watched as Dwight slowly unbuttoned his white top and removed it from his collarbone. He turned, pulling his long black hair aside. With the shirt lowered and the hair aside, Ceridwen could clearly see the fang-scars at the top of his back. She gasped. He quickly released his hair and pulled the shirt back over himself. He buttoned it carefully and looked back up at her. His eyes glowed with the yellow that sometimes showed in Ceridwen's emotional irises.

"I awoke in one of his guest rooms. He had waited at my side for me to come around. He told me what I had become and that I was to be his protege', the son he had always wanted. I screamed at him more hatefully than I have ever done to another human being. I tried to run home, only to find that the sun had risen. Just opening the door nearly blinded me and burned my face like nothing I had ever felt. I waited until nightfall as Dilbert kept trying to sway me to follow him and embrace the powers I would soon enjoy. After the sun set, I ran home. My parents were talking calmly to one another through the window. I was convinced that they weren't even missing me.", he said sadly. He sighed and leaned against the wall. "I went back to Dilbert and demanded he cure me. I found that he had left, just abandoned me like that. I suppose I hadn't turned out the way he had planned. A shame, really; I would have enjoyed destroying him." Dwight began to clench both fists as he began to pace once more. "For three years, I tried to control myself. Everytime I would starve myself, I would black out and then fly into a rage and kill anyone nearest me. That meant either near Dilbert's house, or anyone at close range on the street. Back then, the killings were done so brutally and were always done outdoors, so no one suspected that it was anything more than a savage beast. In a way they were right."

He leaned against the chest of drawers, breathing as calmly as possible. He hadn't ever been forced to put these events into words. The actions alone were enough to make him furious, but having to explain the feelings on top of that was maddening. He sighed and turned back to Ceridwen.

"I began taking out criminals in the local prisons systematically so that I could stay near my parents. I lived in Dilbert's house. After three years, they went into the house to appraise it and found what was left of my jacket. It was given to my parents and I was labeled the first in a string of murders committed by Lindman. The others that had occurred around town were soon assigned to his name as well. My mother died as they handed her the blood soaked shreds of cloth." Dwight tilted his head back and breathed in another measure of forced serenity. "My father lingered, trying to track down the man. He even hired several bounty hunters and invested our properties into facilities for new technologies that would bring justice to the common man. He died years later. His business in forensics had proven lucrative, but his life was never the same without my mother. I killed both of them even with trying to keep myself away."

Ceridwen stood, and glared at him. "Do you think they would blame you for their deaths?" He stared back and shook his head. "Then why would you accuse them of something so cruel? They loved you, isn't that obvious?"

He looked down and sighed again, clenching both fists tightly. He felt the sting of his nails digging into his palms. He ignored the pain and allowed one tear to course furiously down his cheek. Ceridwen reached out and pushed it away, grasping his face firmly in both hands. He looked down at her. His angry glare glowed brightly at her.

"No one is to know about this.", he snarled. She frowned.

"I gave you my word. That should be enough for you.", she said calmly. "You have so much to do in the next few years, Dwight. Do not start hating or despising the one person that's going to be your stronghold. If you're too angry with him, work can't get done."

Dwight looked at her in confusion for a moment. Who was she referring to?

She smiled and turned, heading for the door. She glanced back at him as she spoke. "Get some rest for a while. Then try and reconcile the differences you have with yourself.", she said casually and walked out of the doorway, closing the large wooden door behind her. Dwight stood, stunned for a moment. He moved back over to the bed and sat down on the floor beside it. He placed one hand over his forehead and began to mutter a few things to himself that he had only allowed himself to think several years ago. Even if he was going to leave this group behind and make sure no one ever captured him again, he truly did need to do some emmense forgiving towards himself.


	7. Jeremiah Was a Traitor

Chapter 7: Jeremiah Was a Traitor

As the sun began to set on the next day, Ceridwen heard a loud knocking at the front door. She walked carefully towards it. They weren't expecting anyone, and no one else should have been calling on anyone at this hour. She reached for the handle and looked out through a peephole. To her surprise, it was an operative by the name of Craig Drakeman. Craig was the son of Dyllis Drakeman. Dyllis, or Dil, was a reknowned doctor for the bureau who had concocted the more effecient methods of disposing of lycans and vampires. Vampires could be regenerated even from ash with the right amount of plasma and original material from the virus itself. There were ways to destroy all the genetic coding of the virus in a vampire and make sure that their remains could not be regenerated of course. The best one, in Ceridwen's opinion, was to simply let nature and time kill off the remnants of the virus. In other words, Ceridwen preferred that vampires die of their natural disease rather than being murdered. Craig was Dil's assistant, and was often asked to bring in a subject that was used to help test new methods of extermination. Ceridwen couldn't imagine why the young brute was here. She opened the door a little and glared at him.

"What do you want?", she demanded.

"There was a serious incident reported yesterday. An attempted escape by your subject.", Craig said smoothly. Ceridwen growled. Craig smiled wickedly. "It's also been reported that you yourself have had a little trouble keeping your virus in remission around the subject."

"All lycans in remission experience episodes every now and again. Rarely is anyone hurt during them, and the past few days have not been a rare occassion. Do you follow me?", she said folding her arms. Craig chuckled. "Is there a reason you're here, or did you simply have no one else to torture?"

Craig scowled at her. "As a matter of fact, I'm here to assess the situation. I need to examine your subject and determine his progress."

"It hasn't even been a full week!", Ceridwen argued. "This is unacceptable. I'll ask you to leave, thank you.", she said as she closed the door. Craig caught the door in one hand and held it open. He smiled coldly at her.

"Wasn't it your wording that stated if a vampire were given the proper attention one could make mountains of progress in a matter of three or four days?", he said. Ceridwen took a step back, seething at him. "Or was it three or four _nights_ that you said? Either way, I am here to document what you have accomplished."

"Alright. Let me see your orders.", Ceridwen said with a wave of her hand. Craig's expression froze. He glared at the obstinate young girl with sincere hatred. She smiled and held out her hand. He took a step back. Ceridwen lifted one brow. "You do have orders, don't you?"

"Why do you need to see them, Ceridwen? You're not head of this project.", he sneered.

"Actually, she is.", James said approaching the door and putting a hand on Ceridwen's shoulder. "She would need to see your orders before allowing you in. The subject made a breakthrough, but he has also suffered an upset."

"So I heard.", Craig scoffed. James and Ceridwen looked at one another in concern.

"Exactly who was it that reported these things to you?", Ceridwen demanded angrily. Craig smiled and chuckled.

"Your brother; Jeremiah. I was under the impression that he was head of this team.", Craig explained. Both James and Ceridwen frowned. Ceridwen began to growl softly. Craig smiled. "Is something wrong, Ceridwen? Are you in need of medical attention?"

"We are not on intimate terms, Mister Drakeman. I suggest you refer to me properly.", she said angrily. "As to the previous statement, Jeremiah is not the head of this team. In fact, his position here is in serious question." James looked down at her as she hissed the last few words. He pulled her away from the door slightly. "Go back to headquarters, Mister Drakeman, I'm sure there is plenty for you to do there."

Craig snarled and stepped backwards for a few paces, then turned and stormed away. Ceridwen slammed the door shut. Craig turned around and glared at the building. Dwight was incredibly powerful and had been a medical enigma even in his younger days. No one of his generation had been priveleged enough to have something like Polio go into full remission, not even with extensive treatment. He breathed deeply. There was more than one way to get past a Ceridwen, more than one way to kill a werecat.

Ceridwen stormed up the stairs towards the study. She desperately needed to speak with her brother.

Jeremy took the next pint he had to distribute and added the necessary vitamin supplements. Since vampiricism had many of the properties of pernicious anemia, there was a necessity for large doses of vitamins B-6 and D. He finished carefully injecting the vitamin solution into the thawed dose of blood. He was asked to add a small amount of a muscle relaxant. It was a fairly new way to help new subjects adjust to their environment and it had worked very nicely. Ceridwen felt this would be especially helpful in case Dwight had residual symptoms of Post Polio Syndrome. It was still a mystery to the group that had studied his background, as to how he had recovered so well from the disease in the first place. Jeremy hadn't thought about those sorts of questions. He had done the majority of the research into how often and how much Dwight had taken life. Ceridwen had been a little careless in that department by comparison. She had focused almost exclusively on the background of the young vampire and had all but ignored what he was being taken away from. In actuality, it was extremely fortunate that Jeremy had decided to volunteer to this assignment and make sure that Ceridwen didn't go into the complete 'bleeding heart' mode.

He sighed heavily and finished adding the last of the seerum to the blood. He held it up and looked at it carefully for a moment. It seemed to have mixed well for now. As he walked up the stairs, he tried to think to himself about the best way to get Ceridwen through this as quickly as possible. Her virus had gone into semi-remission some years ago with treatment, but being in the presence of a vampire like this was taking its toll. The only way to put lycanthropy into full remission was to find the originator of the string of their virus specifically and have them injected with a small amount of their plasma. No one knew exactly where Ceridwen's virus had come from since the man in the UK had never been caught and her father and mother had both been destroyed before that treatment plan had been proven and put into action.

Jeremy opened the door to the library. He had been told that Dwight was reading for a short while. Jeremy was still uncomfortable with giving him free run of the house even while supervised, to say the least. He fought off the urge to growl at the man as he laid the small package on the table near the chair where he was seated. Dwight turned for a moment, noticing the blood. Instinct caused him to grab it instantly. Instinct hadn't been as necessary for the past three days. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, fighting off the urge to extend his fangs and tear into this. He breathed quietly and looked carefully at it. His stomach turned slightly. This was a sure sign that his human side was still quite present at the moment. He frowned. He turned to Jeremy.

Jeremy had been alerted to the fact that, eventually, Dwight would want to take blood in capsule form like the majority of the other younger reform cases. In the meantime, he was still in an infant-like state and needed to ingest the blood in its entirety. This was why most subjects that were hesitant to reform in the first place, simply went back to killing; they saw little use in reforming if there was no way for them to do anything but continue to drink the blood like an animal. Dwight still found himself having the urge to lash out and cause harm every now and then, but he also found that he was managing to control it. The feeling he always experienced after staving off an outburst was intoxicating to some extent. The hunger was there, but Dwight was coming to realize that, at least for the time being, the only way he could have freedom was to play nicely with them and give them what they wanted. After he left, he could continue to try and control his outbursts to being only when he was veracious. He turned to Jeremy.

"Where is Ceridwen?", he asked. Jeremy glared at him.

"Probably busy. She's not your mother, you know.", he growled in reply. Dwight frowned at him. "And she's not interested in you. I've seen you look at her these past three days. I'm not an idiot, I know what you're thinking."

"Do you, now?", Dwight said folding his arms.

"It isn't that hard for me to think like you, you big ape.", Jeremy retorted. Dwight lifted one brow. Apparently, Jeremy had no idea what he was saying in calling him that. He sighed and picked up the book he had been holding once more. "You better drink that before it starts to solidify. I'm supposed to make sure you take all of it."

"That's so sweet of you.", Dwight mused as he took the blood in his hands again.

"Don't you start getting cute with me, wisecrack.", Jeremy warned. Dwight glared at him as he opened the container at the 'porthole' and drank quickly. After downing it, he turned his head and fought away the urge to retch. "You're pathetic, you know that right? A vampire that gets sick at the taste of blood. You have to be the biggest wimp in exsistance."

"Am I?", Dwight said. His face had turned slightly with his eyes turned bright yellow. Jeremy's mouth went dry and he took a step backwards. "Am I really?"

"Don't start something you can't finish. I'll get crazy, don't think I won't. I am more than capable of taking you on, Count Susie.", Jeremy said raising both fists defensively. Dwight growled, feeling another inhuman urge to destroy. The urge hadn't caused him to fully begin to change, so the device was not activated. Apparently, the small amount of natural change that occurred when he fed was much different than what he experienced when hunting. He moved forward one step towards Jeremy, eyes still glowing. Jeremy raised his fists more and stood firmly in place. "What's up? You want to do this right now?"

"Do what? Fight you. There's no point to that. I'd rather let you hurt _yourself_.", Dwight said. Jeremy growled and lunged for him. Dwight moved swiftly to the side as Jeremy flew forward and collided with the chair. Dwight chuckled quietly and watched the young man try to regain his bearings. Jeremy stood and centered himself. He turned back to Dwight. "I'm not impressed, Jeremiah. Try again."

Jeremy snarled and lunged for him again, completely ignoring all protocol. His distinct hatred for the preternatural species of vampires was becoming more and more obvious to everyone in the mansion. Ceridwen knew why, but was not open with the details. All she would say was that Jeremy's family had been affected by that virus similarly to hers. Dwight could smell Jeremy's hatred for him and his desire to keep his sister under control. It must have been aggravating for the adopted siblings to interact in this setting if both were in a constant struggle for supremacy. Before Jeremy could slam himself into the table next to the chair, Dwight caught him by the arms and held him firmly in front of him. Jeremy looked up at him. Dwight could detect fear in him, but it was still second to the youth's anger.

"Let go of me.", he said sternly. Dwight let go of the young man, staring at something behind him. Jeremy moved to try and get in a good hit while the man seemed to be distracted, but then realized he could sense his sister's presence. It was moments like these that made him wish she was much less graceful and quiet. He turned and breathed deeply, trying to look calmly at his sister. Ceridwen stared back at him, hiding all emotion.

"Jeremy, I need to talk with you in the study.", she said softly. Jeremy nodded. Ceridwen turned quickly and left. Jeremy was surprised to see how fast she was moving and still remaining smooth. This was unusual for her when the moon was back to its other phases. Jeremy shrugged and moved to follow. Dwight suddenly grasped his shoulder and held him in place.

"Wait. I don't think it's a good idea for you to go in and talk to her alone like that.", he warned.

"What do you know?", Jeremy muttered slapping his hand away. Dwight snarled and grabbed his other arm.

"Didn't you see her eyes? She was seething. I don't know what you did, but it has infuriated her beyond anything I've seen in her so far, short of causing her to change.", Dwight explained. Jeremy stared at him in sincerity.

"Really? What do you think made her angry?", he said turning back to the door.

"I'll go and see.", Dwight said moving towards the door.

"What do you care if she tears into me or not?", Jeremy called after him in a slight whisper.

"I don't, but this will be something to lord over you.", Dwight said with a smile as he left the room.

Ceridwen sat on the couch in the study, waiting as patiently as possible. She looked up as the door opened. Her expression straightened as she noticed it was Dwight.

"Is something wrong, Dwight?", she asked calmly. Dwight stood a few feet in front of her, hands folded neatly behind him.

"Ceridwen, what is going on. You promised to be honest with me. Why are you angry at Jeremy?", he asked firmly.

"Angry? I'm not angry with Jeremy.", she said casually. Dwight continued to stare at her intently. She frowned and cleared her throat twice. "I'm afraid Jeremy has expressed a resounding desire to leave this team."

"What did he do?", Dwight continued. Ceridwen looked up at him with a twinge of anger. It was a little obvious that she couldn't get something past him right now.

"He went over my head and tried to claim that both you and I have had fits that were out of control. If those kinds of reports are investigated, then this whole project could fall through terribly.", she said frowning. "He knows how much this means to me!", she said throwing a glass accross the room. Dwight stared at her in disbelief as she panted in frustration.

"Ceridwen, Jeremy doesn't think before he acts. Even you must have concluded that by now.", Dwight offered. "Perhaps it would be wise to simply talk to him as someone who made a mistake rather than someone who knowingly attacked you."

"Jeremy has had it out for this project to be cancelled from the beginning.", she growled.

"Then why on earth did you allow him to come?", Dwight countered. As Ceridwen looked up at him to shout some kind of family-based-obligatory response. Dwight moved closer, very quickly, and spoke softly before she could reply. "Jeremy never wanted to hurt you; I did. Think about that."

"You never _seriously_ thought about harming me.", Ceridwen said indignantly.

"Of course I did, silly girl. Has it not registered with you that I really don't care about you like the people you are with? I am not your friend, Ceridwen. I am your subject.", Dwight said looking directly into her eyes. Ceridwen stared back at him with a feeling of betrayal washing over her. "Your brother could do well for you in protecting you. I tell you this for the sole reason that, should I try to escape, not having him here would make things far too easy. I cannot stand to accomplish anything without hard work."

Ceridwen said nothing as Dwight left the room. He walked back into the library where Jeremy sat waiting. He jumped to his feet and looked nervously at the man. Dwight smiled and walked past him.

"Well? What did she say?", Jeremy asked. His staunch hatred for the man was put aside for the moment. Dwight could actually prove useful in cases like this since Ceridwen seemed to have some kind of warmth for him.

"You are in for it.", Dwight said calmly as he sat and picked up his book once more. He looked up at Jeremy and chuckled. "I am not sure exactly what it is that you've done, Jeremiah. She wouldn't be forthcoming with it. I am sure, though, that if you try and think for a few seconds, painful as it may be for the rest of us, you will discover why she is furious and apologize." Dwight said nothing more as he went back to reading.

"So I should wait to go in there?", Jeremy asked. Dwight looked up slowly from the book and glared at him. "No, Ceridwen never stays angry for very long.", he muttered.

"You owe me.", Dwight said in a deep tone as he looked back down towards the pages.

"Whatever.", Jeremy scoffed as he headed out of the room.

"That report wasn't false and you know it, Ceri.", Jeremy said firmly as the argument continued. "That curtain had been torn down on his first conscious night. It hadn't bothered him before. He was trying to kill you and get away."

"Are you forgetting the fact that I can smell danger, Jeremy?", Ceridwen countered. "I would know if he really wanted to harm me."

"Didn't you ever pay attention to what dad said? Your virus was treated while you were young, you haven't had time to fine tune any of your instincts. He could completely out do you if it came down to instinct.", Jeremy replied. Ceridwen growled at him. "I'm sorry I went over you like that. I was worried. He seems to be civil right now, which will make him easier to watch. As for you, I think you need to assign someone else to deal with him in person."

"Jeremiah;", Ceridwen breathed angrily. "I cannot do any good for him if I do not prove to him that he is trusted. If he still senses that those around him think of him as a monster, then he will revert back to acting like one."

"He _is_ one, Ceri. You have never killed anything, he has slaughtered hordes of people. Men, women, children..."

"Enough!", Ceridwen exclaimed standing and facing him with fists clenched. She turned her face away from him and breathed deeply. "I am ever grateful that you are here to protect me, Jeremiah. But do not undo what I am trying to accomplish for us."

"He's not what you're hoping, Ceridwen. I garuantee that.", Jeremy said sadly as he turned and walked away. Ceridwen began to tremble slightly. Dwight's words combined with Jeremy's in a bitter realization that she was not fully prepared for what she was facing. She sat down slowly and let several tears course down her cheeks silently. She had to make this work. It meant more than Dwight's survival, it meant her own.

Dwight tried to push the thought of the two out of his mind. He had meant the majority of what he had said to Ceridwen. He didn't care about her by comparison to the others that knew her. She was simply someone that he could benefit from for a short while. Like anyone else he grew attached to, she would inevitably succomb to some grisly fate. Dwight had learned it prudent over the past years to be civil with others, but to remain unattached to anyone as a firm rule. Even the victims that he had known before he killed them held no warmth or fondness from him. This was the best way to handle things. If he was going to exsist like this for the rest of his unnatural life, then he might as well adapt to the sad facts about this curse as well as embrace its strengths. As he turned another page, he heard something clatter against the window pane. Dwight stood and looked towards the large window that lay on the other side of the room. Outside the window was a balcony, but he couldn't think of anything that would be out there at the moment...or anyone. He walked towards it, clearly smelling another being. Not just another being, another vampire.


	8. The Game of Friendship

Chapter 7: The Game of Friendship

Dwight moved quietly to the balcony, sniffing deeply for the intruder. The vampire was male, and much younger than he. He was also quite hostile from the sound of his heartbeat. It had the staccatto that was common in music from intense tradgedy and opera. Dwight growled softly, giving the intruder fair warning that there was a much more powerful male nearby that was not going to allow anyone to step into his territory and start anything. A sharp pain cut through the base of his head, alerting him to the presence of his 'behavioral modification' device. He growled a little louder and squeezed his eyes closed, firmly clenching his fists.

"It must be so frustrating.", an oily voice said from behind the curtains. Dwight opened his eyes and examined the balcony carefully. He still couldn't see anyone. He moved the curtains aside and then stepped out onto the floor that extended out the window. He breathed more deeply than ever, trying desperately to sense whether or not he was in danger. He suddenly heard a soft thump behind him. He turned and glared angrily at the young man that now stood between him and the room. The young man seemed familiar somehow, but Dwight couldn't place just how. The young man had dark brown eyes that would have seemed black without Dwight's super-keen sense of sight. The man's features were sharp, unusually so. His pale skin contrasted his dark clothing and brown hair. He seemed to be of average height, but that was the only average thing about him. Dwight frowned and lowered his head slightly in a challenge. The young man sighed and shook his head. "You can't even transmorph to defend yourself. How would they expect you to handle an enemy if you were attacked? It's such a shame."

"Who are you?", Dwight snarled. "What do you want?"

"Of course, how terribly rude of me. I do apologize. My name is Craig, Craig Drakeman. You and I are of the same blood, I see.", the young man said in an almost condescending tone. Dwight stepped to the right, continuing to glare hatefully at the man. "Don't you find it disturbing that they allow the girl free run when her condition is far more dangerous and much less maleable? It's a double standard and a crime."

"I asked you what you wanted.", Dwight repeated in a low, guttural growl.

"Again, I apologize. I am simply overwhelmed with the injustices here.", Craig said with a nod. "I want what you want, Mister Wrenn. Your freedom. I gained mine some years ago and have made it my passion to help others, like yourself, that have been captured by these fascists."

"Explain.", Dwight said firmly. Craig smiled wickedly.

"Gladly. The only way to have freedom among the 'Bureau' as they call it, is to allow them free control of your body and mind. That poor girl is delusional because of them, dangerously so. Soon, they will have you. That chip in the back of your head is only the beginning.", Craig explained. "I am part of a small group of people like ourselves that believes in our natural exsistance and freedom. We cannot allow this faction that this bureau is controlling to exterminate our kind and destroy what little of a life we have left."

Dwight stared at the young man. He gazed deeply into his eyes. The young man seemed to be somewhat genuine, if there was such a thing. He stepped to the left and moved a little closer to the stranger. Why had he come and how had he managed to not be noticed. Craig smiled brightly as he sensed Dwight's concerns.

"You can't fly, Mister Wrenn. There are those of us that can. Would you like to have freedom from that silly little plane?"

Dwight growled and moved towards the youth's face. "_What did you say_?"

"I apologize, you are indeed a dedicated pilot. I have heard stories that your command of aeronautical engineering has been exceptional from your childhood. I can see that I have yet to hear a falsehood about you.", Craig said with a wink. Dwight rolled his eys and looked away with a sigh. "I flew here and will leave by the same method. If you would like our help in regaining your freedom and obtaining a position amongst your own, then simply say the word and I will be glad to help."

"Take me away now and remove the device.", Dwight demanded as he siezed the youth by the shoulder.

"Not so fast, Mister Wrenn. I can, indee, remove the device at our clinic. Before we allow you into the group, we must send a message to the rest of this bureau. We will require a small form of payment from you."

"I am not handing over anything of mine.", Dwight said angrily. Craig chuckled softly.

"No one will ask you to give up anything of yours, Mister Wrenn. That would be just as wrong as what this faction is doing to you.", Craig said with a tone of sincere empathy. "We simply want a little token to show the bureau that they cannot continue to capture and torture our kind."

"What would you need for that?", Dwight said in confusion.

"Ceridwen NiStuart.", Craig said hungrily. Dwight stepped back and growled. He wasn't necessarily fond of Ceridwen at all, but any end that someone like this gentleman had for her could not be pleasant. He frowned. "Do not worry for her, Mister Wrenn. She was once a wonderful young lycan until the faction took her. Her true spirit died some years ago. Wouldn't it be wonderful to set her soul at peace and send a powerful message to the faction at the same time? Think of the impact for good it will have for both humanity and the preternatural."

Dwight looked down. Was this man telling the truth? Had they really altered Ceridwen and impaired her person? She seemed to suffer when he had behaved badly. Were they punishing her for his antics? Perhaps they were using her kind nature to snare vampires and still keeping her under their thumb by tormenting her when one did not convert. He growled softly. That was beyond evil. He looked back up at Craig.

"Alive or dead?", he asked coldly. Craig smiled. Dwight's hunger for freedom and thirst for violence was still strong enough to play on.

"As alive as you can bring her, but we all have needs, don't we?", Craig joked with a nudge and a wry smile. Dwight growled as Craig chuckled and moved back towards the railing on the balcony. Dwight watched as the young man climbed onto the railing and stood, balancing himself as he spun around and faced Dwight a final time. "Take all the time you need, Mister Wrenn. Simply remember that the more time that is spent under their supervision, the more freedom and sanity you will lose. Be strong, Mister Wrenn. I can already see that you are brave. Good luck!"

Dwight watched as the young man dove off the railing and fell swiftly towards the ground. Craig spread his arms and shrieked. Once he was a mere four feet from the ground, Craig allowed a large pair of dragon-like wings to burst from his spine and scoop him into the sky. Craig gained altitude and swooped into the darkness. Dwight watched in amazement. He loved his plane, she was his passion and had been since he had scavenged her and saved her from being destroyed. Still, it would be incredible to be able to take to the sky without need of steel and fuel. He smiled slightly with child-like wonderment and strode back into the room. It wouldn't take him long to complete this. He stopped. He didn't know where the young man was. He frowned. How was he supposed to reclaim his freedom now? He almost felt like crying with desperation. He slunk into the chair he had been using and groaned.

"Dwight? I need to talk to you for a moment.", Ceridwen called from the study. Dwight growled and stood slowly. He was actually beginning to loathe the constant jabbering of the girl. He hadn't really noticed this until the idea of being freed once more had come to him. He walked cautiously out of the room, trying madly to keep from transmorphing and killing something right there and then. A seering pain shot through the base of his skull. Dwight cried out uncontrollably and grabbed hold of the nearest wall. He stood, panting for a moment as the waves of pain subsided. The door behind him creaked open slightly. "Dwight? Are you hurt? What's wrong?", Ceridwen asked as she peeked her head through the door. Dwight turned and noticed the urgent concern in her soft green eyes. He sighed and striaghtened himself. He cleared his throat and folded his hands behind him as Ceridwen inched into the room timidly.

"Everything is fine, Ceridwen. I just hit something as I tried to stand too quickly.", he lied. Ceridwen's expression furrowed. He looked slightly to the side. Obviously, she could detect lies. He sighed. "It was nothing."

"I thought I smelled someone and heard something. Were you being threatened? Threats are unacceptable, I would take care of that right away.", she said beginning to sound angry. Dwight smiled. Under the control of the bureau or not, this girl had a passionate spirit. "What happened?"

"Nothing happened, Ceridwen. It's fine. There was a bat at the window.", Dwight said. Only part of that was a lie after all. His reasoning told him that Craig must have partially become a bat as he flew away and then transmorphed the rest of the way as he neared home. Dwight had yet to recieve the same lectures and learning that anyone in the modern branches of the bureau around Ceridwen had.

Ceridwen laughed as she moved closer to him. She seemed momentarily distracted, which was a relief to them both.

"Did you know that some people still think that vampires are related to bats and that they can transmorph into them?", she laughed. Dwight stared at her in confusion. She silenced and then smiled brightly. "You're not at all like a bat, Dwight. Actually, Vampires share genetic properties with..."

A furious knocking sounded off of the door behind the two.

"Miss Ceridwen, it's arrived. You need to come and sign for this.", James said from the hallway. Ceridwen looked up at Dwight for a moment.

"I'll only be a moment.", she said with a slight bow to him. She turned quickly and headed out of the room. Dwight stared at the door for a second, listening and thinking carefully. He finally gave a sigh and darted out of the room behind her. Ceridwen and the others had hurried down the stairs and out towards the front door. The operatives at the front door, stepped in front of the open doorway, refusing to let Dwight pass. Dwight looked over the tops of their heads to see what was going on. He saw a large truck towing something covered by an enormous tarp. Ceridwen walked over to the vehicle as it came to a slow stop. She reached up and tore the tarp off.

"Wonderful! Take it to that building over there, it's the hangar.", she said clapping her hands excitedly. The driver nodded and revved the engine. Ceridwen turned and watched as the truck pulled one of the most important parts of Dwight's recovery to the hangar she had comissioned months ago. She smiled brightly and then walked back towards the mansion. She stopped once more and looked at the truck with its cargo. The large black and red Cessna Skymaster that sat on it's trailer would serve as a testimony to her trust and understanding for him. She nearly giggled with excitement as she walked back into the mansion. Dwight stared at her. She stood beside him and stared out as he watched the plane move easily into the hangar. His eyes glistened with nostalgia and longing. "She's beautfiul, Dwight. It won't be long before you'll be able to start sweeping the skies with her again. Maybe then you can show me that kind of freedom."

"Freedom.", he muttered. Ceridwen looked up at him. He seemed mournfully entranced at seeing his aeronautic lady being escorted to her temporary resting place.

"Did you ever name her?", Ceridwen asked as she placed a hand on Dwight's shoulder. Dwight nodded slowly and remained expressionless. Ceridwen smiled and cocked her head, still gazing up at him. He nodded slightly. "What is her name, then?"

Dwight watched as the doors to the hangar closed, sealing off the glimpse at liberation and comfort that he had just been given. A scream caught in his throat. Now he was really beginning to realize what torture being kept here was. Instead of a scream or shout, Dwight managed to whisper a name. "Lenore."


	9. The Wisdom of the Ages

Chapter 8: The Wisdom of the Ages

Ceridwen walked back towards the library, almost skipping with happiness. Dwight exhibited just the opposite. He walked slowly, with the disappointment of a man being directly denied his beloved. He fought away tears. He had not cried in years and he wasn't about to start now. Instead, he pushed the saline sorrow into the back of his mind, fully converting it into anger. He growled softly as he walked into the library. Ceridwen whisked over to a chair and sat down gracefully. Dwight stalked over to the chair nearest her and slunk down uncermoniously. Ceridwen was too overcome with excitement to notice how upset he was. Dwight looked up at her in irritation.

"What do you want to tell me?", he growled. Ceridwen looked at him in surprise.

"I just realized that there are probably some things that you'll need to know that you wouldn't think to ask. I thought I would anticipate your whim and address them before they came up. The little discussion we started about some of your concerns got me to thinking about that.", she said with a smile.

Dwight glared at her. Ceridwen frowned and moved towards him. Dwight stood, clenching his fists and growling.

"Be quick. I'm tired.", he snarled.

Ceridwen scowled back at him. He was being very unappreciative.

"Very well. Yes, you can eat food. No, you can't survive on it. Yes, you can be awake during the day; but being awake at night is more practical. Yes, you can travel without your grave. It took us weeks to supplant it back at your family's cemetary properly. Yes, you can be around animals without driving them mad. Yes, you can have normal intimacies with another human as well as father children. No, you cannot change into a bat or a wolf or a mist. Yes, you can attend a church service, in fact I highly recommend doing so regularly. No, you cannot really hold down a carreer unless you have a previous skill or live in an area that requires night workers. Yes, you can..."

"Can I go outside?", he suddenly demanded.

"Of course, when the sun isn't directly overhead.", she stated as she crossed her arms.

"When?"

She sighed heavily. "When it is night, twilight, dusk, dawn, or very cloudy.", she replied rolling her eyes. Dwight moved closer and spoke in a lower tone.

"I meant _when_. Tonight? Tommorrow? When?", he demanded. Ceridwen stepped backwards and looked at him in concern.

"Dwight, you aren't ready for that yet. You've got a few decades of this disaease to recover from before you can have freedom in everything. Perhaps if I can speak with the department leader I can arrange for you and I to..."

"Not good enough!", Dwight yelled, forcing his head forwards with each word. Ceridwen shrunk slightly, feeling a sudden twinge of fear from him. "I want to go, now.", he growled.

"That isn't going to happen, Dwight.", Ceridwen said softly. As he continued to growl and glare at her, Ceridwen allowed indignation to take her. "Need I remind you that after your little episode last night, you are on thin ice as it is?"

"Either you trust me, or you don't. If you do, then I should be allowed to roam wherever I please.", Dwight said angrily.

"It isn't as simple as that. You still have physical needs that must be resolved before you're reformed enough for such freedoms. Not to mention, you're a little unstable as it is. What about nearby residents? You don't really want to hurt anyone, do you?", she asked with concern. Dwight snarled loudly and turned away from her. He clenched on fist of his hair to the side of his face. Ceridwen watched this and felt a tremendous wave of pity take her. When she had been brought to the United States among the bureau as a little girl, she had been allowed wherever her foster father would allow. She was able to be a fairly normal child with the treatments she was given. She sighed. "It hurt you to see her, didn't it?"

"Be silent, Ceridwen. I am at my limit.", Dwight hissed. Ceridwen sighed and walked up to him. His eyes were closed tightly in an attempt to fend off a surge of electronic discipline. She reached up and gently took his hand, softly grasping it and pulling it away from his hair. Dwight allowed it and opened his eyes into angry slits. Ceridwen smiled at him and grasped his hand in both of hers.

"If you can promise me that you will be well-behaved for the next few days, I will take you to her.", Ceridwen offered. His eyes popped open. He stared at her in childish anticipation. She could read exactly what he wanted to say. "Yes, really. Just be very quiet and do exactly as I say."

He nodded and followed. Ceridwen moved quickly down the hallway, motioning for Dwight to stay behind her. She turned and mouthed the words 'wait here' before approaching three of her co-workers.

"I am going out to the hangar to inspect the plane myself.", she said firmly. "Dwight is asleep in his room, do not disturb him. Keep two people outside the door at all times, am I clear?"

"Absoloutely, Miss NiStuart.", the first replied. Ceridwen waved towards the staircase and watched the two men walk casually up to the landing. She smiled and turned back towards the railing where Dwight was hiding. He stood and looked at her in confusion.

"Come on, we need to hurry.", she said. He nodded and took her hand. The two moved down the other set of stairs and moved towards the front door. Ceridwen listened and sniffed carefully to make sure that no one was going to be a bother. Since manpower was so controlled inside the mansion, there was no need for outside gaurds. Vampiric reform was a fairly new idea. It was less than twenty years old and had rarely been successful, so everything being done was essentially trial and error with each case. When Ceridwen told Dwight that she had been on several research and reform teams, she had conveniently left out the fact that not many cases in the bureau were successes at all. Ceridwen raced accross the grounds with him, darting here and there as she instinctively left a scent trail to confuse an enemy. Dwight thought that this was unusual, but then realized that even in human form, a wereanimal probably kept quite a bit of their primal nature.

The two reached the hangar in a matter of minutes. Dwight looked at the large metallic structure. This was fairly new. In fact, it seemed as if this hadn't been erected until a little before he had arrived. Ceridwen moved to the hangar door and pulled open a small flap over a keyboard. She smiled and quickly tapped in a code of numbers. She moved so quickly, that Dwight didn't have time to memorize the last three digits, only the first seven. He sighed heavily, watching his breath mist in the air in front of them. The gears in the doorway rumbled as the panels opened. The grinding ceased after a long moment. Ceridwen watched the expression on Dwight's face light up at the sight of his celestial lover. He darted into the hangar and touched the nose of the plane lovingly. He breathed quietly and caressed the plane softly as he moved towards the door.

"No damage? Good, good. This won't happen again, Lenore. I promise.", he said as he gently kissed the side of the windshield. Ceridwen looked at him in confusion as he patted the door. "It's alright now, I'm here.", he said in reassuring both himself and the little craft. He sighed and turned to Ceridwen with a smile.

Ceridwen walked over to him and smiled. "Is she as you left her?", she asked calmly.

"We'll see.", Dwight said. With that he turned and grabbed Ceridwen by the hair. He breathed deeply as he flung her to the back of the hangar. Her head collided fully with the metal wall. She slid to the floor with a pitiful cry. Dwight snickered and opened the door to his plane quickly. His eyes widened at seeing that the interior was clean, no blood anywhere. Being covered with it upon entering and also having the need to spit quite a bit of it out during flights had caused more than a modicum of a mess in the cockpit. Dwight growled softly at the thought of someone else handling his girl so intimately. A thought raced through his mind and he growled more intently. He ripped the curtains that divided the hold from the front and stared in horror at the floor of the plane. It too, was empty. The soil that he had kept so dilligently was gone. He snarled and jumped out of the plane. He stormed over to Ceridwen, who lay in a ball clutching her head. "You filthy little beast! Where is it!? Where's the earth I had?"

"We put it back.", she groaned. Dwight noticed a small amount of blood trickling from her nose. He grunted and picked her up by the collar. He lifted her face to his.

"Where did you put it?", he deamded.

"Over the grave they had for you.", she breathed. Dwight growled more loudly.

"You stupid, stupid little insect!", he shouted.

"It isn't necessary. You can tread the earth without... it's not true.", she muttered, her eyes spinning.

Dwight growled again and dropped her. He had had just about enough of this. He climbed furiously back into the plane and fastened his belt around him. He took hold of the throttle and breathed deeply before switching on the controls. Lights and familiar beeps came on around him. He smiled and looked down at the control panel. His face dropped when he noticed the fuel gage. He screamed in frustration and slammed his hand onto the protective plexi-glass over the instruments. He tore his way back out of the plane and over to Ceridwen. The girl lay in a heap, not moving. He sighed in frustration and sat down next to her. He sighed and put his head in his hands and began to mutter a few curses softly. He suddenly felt a hand grasp his throat tightly. He turned to the assailant, in shock.

"_Watch your language, Dwight_.", Ceridwen hissed. Dwight growled and moved to take a good swipe at her. Ceridwen kept a death grip on his throat and slammed his head into the wall. Dwight coughed and tried to center himself. Ceridwen smiled and waited for a moment. He turned to face her.

"You disgusting little...", he began. Ceridwen bashed his head into the wall three more times in a row and then stopped, continuing her grip. He panted heavily and forced his eyes to focus so that he could glare at her. He turned his gaze back to her. "I am sick and tired of your pathetic...", he began once more. Ceridwen snarled and slammed him backwards eight consecutive times more. Dwight began to scream in pain. Not just from the blows to his skull, but from the activiation of the microchip that seemed to be clicking on with every hit. As Ceridwen pulled him forward once more, Dwight shuddered for a moment with the last of the electricity dispersing. He turned to Ceridwen, exhausted.

"I did you an enormous favour, you ungrateful mealworm!", she snarled. "Do you have any idea what kind of trouble I've placed myself in? You mourn for your freedom and the loss of your normalcy while I am trying to give both to you as much as is humanly possible! In the meantime, I am also defending my own freedom, normalcy, and right to be heard among my colleagues! Do you think anyone will listen to me if I keep letting you do whatever you ask because you look at me sadly with those horrible,", Dwight stared at her with sorrow in both eyes as her voice softened, "...expressive, timid, boyish, tender, big green eyes.", she said with a sigh. Dwight relaxed at realizing her anger was subsiding. She looked down and relaxed her grip on his throat. Dwight smiled and reached up to carefully remove her hand. Ceridwen suddenly growled and tightened her grip, slamming him back into the wall a final time. "I'm still doing it! You can't be trusted right now! You're still recovering! You can't be what I hope you are until you've recovered fully for at least a week!"

Dwight reeled as Ceridwen began to sob. She released him and began to cry into her hands as she curled her knees up to her chest. He moved to try and give her some kind of comfort instinctively. Ceridwen snarled and suddenly punched him in the face.

"Don't you try to touch me!", she screamed. Dwight stared at her in true fear. He had never had another being attack him back like this in decades. He remained still as she stood slowly and walked to the door. "Oh, Dwight.", she wept. "I believed you were so good."

Dwight felt his heart twist in anger and sorrow. He cursed himself and kicked the wall of the hangar. That was revealed to be a mistake when the pain that shot through his now sprained foot caused him to transmorph slightly. He shouted in pain as another jolt of energy raced through him. He sank to the floor and breathed deeply for a moment. He heard the door to the hangar open, the gears grinding with chastisement for yet another failed escape attempt. He groaned and stood slowly. Ceridwen waited at the door for him, wiping tears away angrily. He frowned and walked painfully towards her. As he stepped in front of her to leave, she grabbed his shoulder.

"Tell her goodbye.", Ceridwen ordered sternly. Dwight frowned and turned back to the small black plane. He walked towards her and opened the door. Ceridwen waited patiently. Dwight softly stroked the throttle and the window. He touched the controls pensively and then sighed as he stood to leave. Before completely exiting, he looked back towards the control panel. The 'glove compartment' as it were, still held everything that he had left. His heart leapt. He reached out and snatched the top object. An extremely old photo album. He held it to him tightly for a moment, breathing deeply. He slipped it into his jacket and crawled out of the plane towards Ceridwen. He nodded to her and walked out of the hangar. The two said nothing as they walked sadly back to the mansion. Ceridwen opened the door to the house and stormed inside. Dwight watched her. He felt a nagging burning sensation under the cool album in his jacket. He recognized this more than anything at the moment, it was sheer guilt.


	10. Second Chance in the Moon Cradle

Chapter 9: Second Chance in the Moon Cradle

Ceridwen ordered Dwight to go straight to his quarters. Dwight was still aching from the thorough beating laid on him by the young girl, so there were no arguments. As he walked slowly into his bedroom and sat down on the bed, he heard the door slam shut and a lock click. Dwight stood angrily and flew over to the door. He grabbed the handle and twisted it, pulling on it furiously. It was no use, he had been confined to this room again. He growled softly and sat down on the floor. There were several things that weren't making sense. Perhaps if he could concentrate on some of them then he could forget the panic that was beginning to well up within him. He slammed his back into the wall and growled loudly. Suddenly, he heard a horrible sound in the back of his mind. It was a young woman crying. Dwight was sure that it was that pathetic excuse for an activist, Ceridwen, but the sobbing began to mix with something else. He felt exhaustion taking him as the sound became louder. He snarled in frustration as he slid to the floor and laid his head back. A burning in the back of his mind forced the vision of an unpleasant memory in front of him. Dwight stood in his parent's livingroom. His mother sat in a large armchair, sobbing unconsolably. His father, stone faced, stood beside her with a hand comfortingly on her shoulder. Dwight felt his heart race happily at the sight of his family, then he felt a terrible sting at realizing his mother's sorrow and his father's anger.

"Dwight Angus Wrenn, are you entirely daft?", his father demanded. Dwight took a step backwards and looked down. Again, he was dressed in school clothes, but this time they seemed to be covered in filth. Dwight felt a sting in his chest as this memory became clear to him. "What in God's name were you thinking?"

"Father, I...", Dwight whispered.

"My baby! My only baby!", his mother wailed. His father, Angus, tightened his grip on his mother's shoulder and stroked her perfect hair gently.

"You weren't thinking, boy! What goes on in that head of yours that somehow bypasses God's natural defenses against stupidity? Don't you hear the little voice telling you to stop when enough is enough?!", the man raved.

Dwight felt himself glare at the man. Anger rose within him. His present mind demanded that he stop._ Don't be angry, you fool, he's right about this. Just apologize and embrace them! _Instead, Dwight's inner workings concocted a small quip of cruel sarcasm.

"_I_ do not hear voices, father.", he shot back. Angus growled as Eleanora gasped in shock. Dwight took a step backwards as Angus advanced on him.

"You do not ever answer me in that manner, do you understand me?", the man said firmly. Dwight looked down. "Answer me properly, Dwight!"

"Yes, father.", he muttered. Angus sighed and turned around, his hands folded neatly behind him as Dwight had come to imitate.

"For heaven's sake, you have been lucky since birth! Here you are, twelve years later, trying to undo any good your mother and I did for you! Do you know what kind of turmoil we went through saving your life?", Angus said as his face began to burn brightly. Dwight looked down in embarrassment. "Now, I do not ever want to hear of you participating in something so asenine again! In the name of all that's sacred! Standing in the street and just standing there to see if the automobile will miss you! Who on earth thought that nonsense up?"

"I'm sorry, father.", Dwight said softly. Angus sighed heavily and stared down at the boy. "I will be more careful."

"It's about those boys, isn't it? You want to be a part of their little grouping, don't you?", Angus asked with a sigh.

Dwight looked away. Angus frowned and put a hand on his son's shoulder. Eleanora stood and walked slowly over to them as her lamenting quieted. She looked down at her son and spoke softly.

"Dwight, you will find good friends. Your schooldays have yet to find you someone as mature as you. You have always been more sensible than most of those ruffians. At least, most of the time, you have been.", she re-assured. "You do not have to impress others, my little prince. You are a wonder all by yourself."

Dwight felt his heart soothed at hearing his mother's voice and seeing the tenderness in her eyes. He smiled and sighed. Why wasn't his body responding? He still felt tension and anger in his boyish limbs. He continued to shout orders to the child's form as the boy narrowed his eyes at his parents.

"I am not a child, mother! I am not a baby! Stop treating me like one!", he shouted at her and flew angrily out of the room. Dwight growled and felt himself phase into the dream. He stood in front of the boy as he stormed into the hallway. The boy looked up at him angrily, wiping away a few indignant tears. "What do you want?"

"Appreciation on your part. Can't you see how badly this hurt them? They love you and their fear made them angry. They want you to live long enough to enjoy the privelege you were born to.", he snarled at the boy. The younger him glared back at him.

"I know what I am doing. I do not need anyone's protection, I am strong all on my own. That is why I have survived.", the boy said folding his arms sternly. Dwight growled and siezed the boy by the collar.

"Learn to trust the limitations that your parents have for you. You will regret their removal. When the boundaries are removed, it is becuase their arms are no longer at the range to embrace you at all times. Do you understand?", he hissed. The boy frowned.

"What do you care? You can't trust anyone. No one loves you.", the boy sneered. Dwight felt a surge of anger rip through him. As he roared at the boy, the entire room began to instantly melt around him. He sat bolt upright as sleep left him. He panted heavily and leaned forward on his hands, trying to make sense of the world once more. He sighed and laid to one side, allowing the memory to circulate through his mind repeatedly. It dawned on him, he really didn't trust anyone. It seemed to him that there was no reason to. After all, no one loved him. Where was the reason to? He crawled over to the bed and breathed deeply as he laid down. Just as his mind began to settle once more, he heard the same sobbing from down the hall. Instead of anger tearing through him, Dwight felt pity and guilt.

A thought came to him. If Ceridwen had been able to reach him in dreams, perhaps he could try to do the same for her. He forced his eyes closed and began to concentrate on what he remembered of her and their dreams. It took Ceridwen several moments to settle into sleep. Dwight felt a warmth as her presence joined him in the dream. The schoolroom was there again, with her seated in front of him. As the other students scribbled away at some assignment, Dwight looked towards Ceridwen. She had laid her head on her desk, still crying softly. He frowned and reached forward for her. His fingers softly brushed the midnight tresses that quivered with each sob. None of the other students seemed to notice her and the professor was nowhere in sight. Dwight frowned and clutched her shoulder.

"Ceridwen?", he asked softly. She smacked his hand away, and breathed deeply. Dwight frowned and watched as she straightened herself and began to scribble as furiously as her classmates. "Ceridwen, I'm sorry I hit you."

"Violence is in your _nature_, Dwight.", Ceridwen shot back. Dwight frowned and moved forward, leaning over her left ear.

"You didn't think so.", he mused. She whirled around and glared at him. Her eyes were a fierce yellow. He sat back a little and stared at her.

"That was before you brutalized me.", she said. She pulled a lock of hair away from the right side of her head. It revealed a large bruise near the edge of her jaw. Dwight looked down as she let her hair drop and turned back to her work. "That won't be an issue anymore. I won't be your reformist."

"Wait, you are giving up on me?", Dwight said in confusion. She turned and snarled at him.

"I do not give up, Dwight. I am going to confess everything to the others. Your first escape attempt, your attempt just now, your burning desire to leave.", she said sadly. Dwight stared at her in shock. "I will be removed from this case."

"Won't that hurt your research?", he asked softly. She glared at him, beginning to cry once more. He reached forward for her. She shot up from the desk and left the room hurriedly. Dwight growled at himself and headed after her. Ceridwen walked down a long hall. The enormous passageway was lined with bulletin boards, posters, and notices that were common on campuses of higher learning. He followed quickly ignoring even the beatiful portraits of pastoral settings that lined the walls near the library Ceridwen had entered. He walked in behind her and followed her over to a secluded corner of the room. It was dark by comparison to the rest of the library and very neglected. It looked as if this portion hadn't been used in years. He stared at the bookshelves and breathed in the thick scent of old ink and paper. Ceridwen took a seat facing away from him and picked up a large volume of 'The Rise and Fall of The Roman Empire'. He sighed and sat down on the chair that was on the opposite side of her. "Ceridwen, I can tell them what happened."

"Oh wonderful! A confession from us both! That will look so much better on my ever shrinking resume'.", she retorted angrily. "Leave me alone, Dwight. I didn't invite you into this dream."

"Ceridwen, I know you're trying to help. I just don't think this is the path for me. I want to be free. I haven't been harming the globe significantly.", he argued. Ceridwen growled and threw one of the volumes at him. "Think about things from my perspective, Ceridwen."

"I can't, Dwight. I have too much brainpower!", she snapped. Dwight glared at her. "Aren't hurting the globe significantly. Ha! Isn't that what was said about Hitler before Pearl Harbor was attacked? That the harm that was being done was insignificant and that we should remain neutral so as to keep our freedom. Wasn't that the reasoning?"

"This is different.", Dwight argued.

"Why? Because you aren't setting out to slaughter Hebrews or Roma?", she hissed. He lowered his gaze, his eyes turning a soft shade of yellow as well.

"I do not want to be what I am.", he growled into her face.

"I do not believe that, not any more.", she retorted and turned away. Dwight grabbed her chin harshly.

"How dare you! You think I enjoy being the cause of suffering? I suffer! This is simply a necessary evil."

Ceridwen's eyes glowed so brightly that Dwight was sure there was electricity behind them. "No evil is ever necessary."

He snarled and released her face. "Then what am I supposed to do? Cooperate with you and allow your organization to use me for whatever they see fit?"

"Are you that stupid? The bureau doesn't use its patients.", she said glaring deeply into his eyes. "Our purpose is to aid you, not utilize you. If we wanted to use you, we very well could have done so already. Think about it. The world is in desperate need for research in terminal illnesses. We need bodies and such to experiment on."

Dwight looked at her in horror.

"That's right. That is exactly what vampires and lycans that weren't used in circuses were used for before the bureau came into exsistance. Live dissections, medical tests, psych experiments, lab rats.", she growled. Dwight moved backwards, shaking slightly. It hadn't occurred to him that there might have been people that would use his kind for something like this. It only made sense. Vampires couldn't die like normal humans, but retained human properties. They would be perfect for medical research, especially since they served no social purpose. In his day, if an orphaned child served no purpose, they could very easily be used for something that heinous. It was even worse in foreign soil. He looked back at Ceridwen and frowned. "I am going to fail, Dwight. I will never be able to help anyone else like you because I was foolish enough to let pity inhibit my better judgement. You aren't ready to have such freedoms yet, you are still recovering from rage and sorrow."

"How will I recover if you aren't there?", he asked softly.

"Someone else will be assigned to you.", she explained.

"Someone else?"

"Yes, probably Jeremiah."

"God in heaven!", Dwight exclaimed. Ceridwen frowned and took another book from the stack beside her. Dwight watched her unfold the covers in her lap gently. She was a mirror image of his mother, sitting peacefully in the afternoon. He remembered how his father had handled situations like these and smiled. He reached down and placed one of each of his palms under the backs of her hands and closed the book. He slid both her hands over the top edge of the book and then clasped them together in front of him. "Ceridwen, I want to be free.", he whispered. She scoffed and turned away. He gripped both her hands tightly and forced her to face him. She looked down at him, her tear stained jade eyes breathing with a heartbeat all their own. "I want to be free from all of this. The confinement, the bloodlust, the curses against me, all of it.", he corrected. Ceridwen stared at him confusedly. "Please do not leave me. I am trying so desperately to ammend the wrongs that are in my past and that might be my future. Please do not condemn me to one of the failed dreams that you researched before finding me."

"Why do you want to keep me as your reformist? You broke your word to me. You promised to give this a chance."

"Yes, but I lacked the strength in the face of having something so wonderful tempting me.", he explained. "You do not lack such strength. You brought me back here, you did not take me to the others and demand that I be punished or removed."

She nodded. "I'm not as strong as you think, Dwight. I'm not even as strong as I think I am.", she said sadly.

"You also see something in me that no one since my parents has seen.", Dwight said firmly. "Dilbert saw the potential in me for a heartless creature, Richard Dees saw the potential for a heartless creature that could bring him fame, I saw myself as a heartless monster with no potential whatsoever for anything other than evil."

Ceridwen looked up at him tenderly and sighed. He placed a hand to the side of her face.

"Stay with me, Ceridwen. You've seen too much to just let this go.", he said soothingly. Ceridwen breathed deeply and nodded. He smiled and stood. "Then you'll stay on until this is done?"

"I will do what I can to help you Dwight, but this is the very last time I will hold back the truth for your comfort.", she said. She stood and set the book on the table beside the chair. She moved past him and began to stride quietly out of the room. The fallen volume caught the toe of her sandal and sent her forward. Ceridwen gasped as she froze in midair. Dwight rushed forward and wrapped both arms around her chest in a flash. He lifted her back to standing and then turned her to face him. She stared back, shaking slightly. He smiled and reached forward, softly kissing her forehead. She blushed and looked down. "Thank you."

"Just keep doing the same for me.", he said with a wink. He took her hand and led her out of the room. Dwight felt a terrible cold hit him as they opened the door. The icy blast threw him backwards. As he struggled to stand, he found that he was laying back in his own room. He looked around for a moment and listened carefully. He smiled. He could hear Ceridwen's soft heartbeat and breathing. She was in a pleasant sleep for the moment. He sighed and laid back, closing his own eyes. He would need to see more of Ceridwen's intentions before deciding to take the mysterious Craig's offer. He pulled one of the blankets over him and tried to remember lying in his bed as a boy, snuggled up under the covers after a long day at play. Perhaps those memories could start recurring in his dreams if he tried to live their joy and innocence. That would be an experiment worth trying for the next few days.


	11. Knowledge and Aviation

Chapter 11: Knowledge and Aviation

Dwight woke the next evening feeling refreshed. It was the kind of euphoria and strength that came with the alleviation of a mass wound or beating. Dwight remembered how good he had felt when he had recovered from a bout with any little thing as a young boy. He had always felt wonderful after recovering. He breathed deeply and stood, stretching calmly. He heard another series of cracks and pops in his shoulders, back, and neck. He groaned at the pain that now fizzled in his joints. Ceridwen could fix this. He smiled as he heard the door creak open. He frowned as the individual on the other side entered.

"You need to drink all of this as quickly as possible. There's a huge amount of vitamins and so on in it. Hurry up.", Jeremy said as he placed a container of blood on the chest of drawers near him. Dwight frowned. He stared at Jeremy for a moment. "Come on, I don't have all day."

"Where is Ceridwen?", Dwight asked.

"What do you care?", Jeremy retorted. Dwight continued to stare at him. "Drink up and I'll tell you."

Dwight grabbed the container, tore open the porthole and downed the dose. He turned to the side and wretched a little. Jeremy snickered as Dwight composed himself and tossed the empty packet to Jeremy. Jeremy took it and turned to walk out of the room.

"Where is Ceridwen?", Dwight repeated in a louder and far more demanding tone.

Jeremy groaned. "You can't see her right now, just try and get some rest for a while. I'll bring you some reading material later that you can research.", he said moving to leave.

"Is she hurt? Is she ill? Why can't I see her?", Dwight asked urgently.

"This was bound to happen. She's known it would happen since a few days ago. She'll be handled by the professionals and then maybe she can get on with the rest of her business here.", Jeremy explained. Dwight's expression sank as low as his heart until both began to churn in his stomach. He cleared his throat. "So if I were you, I'd just try and behave for the time being. Not to worry, I'll be taking care of you."

Dwight grabbed Jeremy's shoulders. "What are they going to do? What's going to happen to her?", Dwight demanded. Jeremy pushed the man's hands away angrily.

"Don't get excited, this has happened before. A lot of times before. Thank goodness they've found better ways of dealing with it recently.", Jeremy explained. "They just have to help her deal with the pain and the blood that's going to be happening, that's all."

"My God! They're going to torture her?", Dwight exclaimed. Jeremy stared at him in confusion.

"Has something in your head disconnected somewhere?", Jeremy said with a look of pure bewilderment. "Ceridwen's having her menstrual cycle. She can't be around you until it's cleared up.", Jeremy explained. Dwight felt a small amount of relief, then a larger amount of confusion than Jeremy. Jeremy tilted his head to one side. "Come to think of it, it's a wonder you've been able to function around each other at all. They say that in the first three days before, the hormones she emits can be overwhelming for either of you. It's no wonder you've both been all screwy." Jeremy turned and went to walk slowly away. He stopped and glared back at Dwight for a moment. "Then again, I personally think you're a type A personality to begin with."

"Will she be taken to a hospital?", Dwight asked in concern.

"Of course not, she's just moody, bleeding, and bloated. It'll pass. It always does.", Jeremy muttered and left the room quietly. Dwight stood perfectly still and allowed himself to calm. For a moment, he had thought that Ceridwen was being harmed on his behalf, or worse. He was even more frightened that the one person he had come to know somewhat intimately would be torn away from him. He had almost come to trust the young girl, which was more than he had for anyone at the moment. He sighed and sat back down on the bed. Warmth began to flow through him as the blood and additives began flood his system. The feeling of being satiated like this had come to make him drowsy like a normal human consuming a heavy meal. He laid back and tried to remember what his mother and professors had told him about women.

The next evening, Jeremy entered the room cautiously and tossed the next dosage of blood to Dwight. Dwight took the dose without question and downed it quickly. He may have been denied freedoms, but at least he was not being starved. He had read in some story books about cruel humans that slowly killed vampires by starving them to death. Of course, those books were fiction and could only be taken in part to be true, but Dwight was thankful never the less. He watched Jeremy turn and leave. He sighed and laid his head back. The young man stopped in the doorway and frowned. He turned back to Dwight and stared at him.

"Do you know why my sister trusts you?", he asked calmly. Dwight, being taken aback by the youth's sudden civility, sat up and looked directly into his eyes. "You haven't hurt her.", he explained. Dwight cocked one brow and continued to stare at Jeremy. Jeremy sighed and turned completely, holding the door in one hand behind him. "Ceridwen grew up with my father and I since she was five years old, not an easy childhood, but we made due. Ceri was exceptional at the academy and got alot of attention. Unfortunately, most of the friends she made either turned to what I guess you would call the 'dark side' of the preternatural world, or took to slamming her theories like the rest of the learned community. It goes without saying that everyone else pretty much did the same thing. Ceridwen doesn't trust humans much."

Dwight smiled slightly. "She doesn't?"

"No.", Jeremy said heavily. He glared at Dwight. "Let's be straight about this, I hate you and you can't stand me. However, we have common ground in our connection to my sister. I know that God is merciful, and therefore your relationship with her is fully fascination. Still, it would break my sister's spirit to see you fail and then be destroyed for it. So let me give you this warning; I will not see Ceridwen mourn for you after you have crushed her dream. You screw up at all, I will do away with you personally. Ceridwen will never know whether you fail or not, I will kill you."

Dwight frowned at him. "She wept, didn't she?", he asked softly. Jeremy turned away. Dwight breathed deeply and looked to the other side. "She wept because of me and would not let you comfort her."

"Just remember what I said.", Jeremy warned. "Ceridwen is giving the final lecture on physical anomalies in your kind if you want to come and listen."

"I am confined here, remember?", Dwight sneered.

"I never heard anyone take away what Ceridwen gave you several nights ago when you had your little '_Oh I'm scared of the window' _episode. You can come and listen if you want, it might do you some good to know exactly what kind of a freak you are.", Jeremy retorted. Dwight growled slightly at him and stood slowly. Jeremy smiled and walked calmly out of the room, leaving the door partially open. Dwight sighed and headed towards it. Even if he was still being kept in the mansion, anything was better than being cooped up in this room all day every day and all night as well.

"Alright, last but not least, does everyone remember their first-aid?", Ceridwen asked.

The rest of the group groaned and replied that they, of course, did. Dwight watched carefully. He had been schooled in a few basic things when he had been trained as a pilot, but quite as extensive as Ceridwen must have recieved in learning to help others like him. He stood in the doorway and watched quietly. Ceridwen had the posture and voice of the professor in their dream, though not the masculine voice or sense of humour. Ceridwen seemed to be quite serious, yet soft all at once. Dwight wondered if Ceridwen had wanted to teach on top of her reform work. He smiled and chuckled to himself at the thought of Ceridwen dressed in the clothing that all of his tutors as a very young man had worn; the long dresses with starched folds in the skirt, the tiny black buttons that fastened up to the neckline with several declarations of her prestige and wisdom, and finally the tight hair bun and wide rimmed glasses that framed the faces of three women that shaped some of Dwight's fundamental ideas. He smiled more brightly at remembering how kind two of them had been and how the third had fought so viciously with his mother. Ceridwen began to circle the room again, preparing to speak at length about a subject that she had studied extensively on her own.

"People suffering from vampiricism will respond differently to many disorders. They cannot succomb to viral infections and usually fight off bacterial infections very quickly. They age slowly, as all of you have already seen, and aren't affected by certain ailments related to 'time' that other humans do.", Ceridwen said calmly. "Because of their need for blood, vampires will have a need for fluid and oxygen when they are suffering or hungry. Paying close attention to respiration and other symptoms of shock are crucial in tending to a subject that has sustained a massive wound or is starving."

"Don't vampires regenerate instantly because of the virus?", James asked. The rest of the operatives looked up at Ceridwen expectedly. They expected her to come back with yet another fact that they hadn't heard, but made perfect sense physiologically speaking. The young girl had proven herself to reveal many theories that had eluded the preternatural branch of medical science. Unfortunately, Ceridwen had also proven herself to be too attached to Dwight. Her trust would prove to be detremental if she wasn't careful.

"Actually, subjects are quite similar to sea sponges in that regard. In fact, if you recall, their internal organs are quite spongelike.", Ceridwen began. "When a subject is well-fed and very healthy, they will regenerate quickly from even harsh wounds. Major, and for humans, mortal wounds will always have the potential of being fatal. After all, vampires use blood more quickly and cannot be given it through intraveinous methods. If they're unconscious, they cannot recieve the proper amount of blood needed as a general rule. The best way to make sure that doesn't happen is to watch for signs of shock."

"Shock implies bloodloss, Ceridwen. Aren't they sort of immune to that?", Jeremy asked as he took his seat. He turned and glared at Dwight for a moment. Ceridwen noted Jeremy's hateful glance towards the doorway and smiled slightly.

"As I just said, Jeremiah, vampires are more prone to the effects of bloodloss than an average human, it simply takes longer for them to die from it.", she explained. A few of the other operatives snickered at her tone and silent look of reproach to her adopted brother. "The ones at the greater risk are infantile and adolescent vampires like Dwight."

"How so?", another man asked. "What exactly happens if one sustains a wound?"

"Vampires that suffer massive wounds that are still in the infant or adolescant stages of the virus, suffer from a severe form of shock. The blood they lose is precious. Even though they may survive substantially longer than a normal human in this position, they will be utterly miserable and possibly beyond help unless treated properly.", she stated proudly. "You should take note of breathing as the key sign. Their breathing becomes rapid and shallow, just like a humans, but it also squeaks and rasps like a victim of an athsma attack. Their irises dull in colour and they begin to perspire profusely. I cannot emphasize enough that any fluid and air lost is extremely dangerous."

"So what should we do in case, oh say, he falls into something or falls prey to some other misfortune?", Jeremy asked coldly. He shot an even harsher look at Dwight that served as a warning. This time, Ceridwen turned for a moment and gave a quick glance towards Dwight. Dwight darted back into the hall for a moment and smiled.

"If, God forbid, this should occur; lie the victim on their back and cover them to keep them warm. Elevate the feet above heart level and cushion the head if at all possible. In cases of bloodloss, feed a vampiric victim plasma. Everyone have that?", she asked. The room replied 'yes' all at once. Ceridwen smiled and nodded to all of them. "Good, then. Gentlemen, you are more than well equipped for any physical or basic emotional eventuality. I commend you. For those of you who will be helping me in the counseling area, I believe there are two of you, we have another two weeks of research and treatments to discuss. As for everyone else, go and relax for a while. You've all earned it. I can tell right now that we will be successful."

The operatives applauded for a moment and then stood to leave the room. Dwight backed out of the way and watched all but Ceridwen leave. As Jeremy passed him, he pointed a finger in another reminder. Dwight nodded once and then swept silently into the room. He approached Ceridwen calmly and quietly. He was having difficulty keeping his breathing under control for the moment. Ceridwen was beautiful, why hadn't this taken him before? Her hair was the sparkling black of the midnight sky that welcomed him into its breezes of freedom regularly. Her eyes were a striking green with a blue halo, as if someone had taken a drop of the sea and sliced it in half to create her gaze. Her skin was pale and perfect, not a flaw that he cared to notice. Her scent was... He stopped. Her scent, he could smell her blood. She was bleeding, but not from a wound. In fact, the scent of blood seemed to be mixed with the scent of feminine energy that drove all well-bred Amerian Gentleman to being total animals. He growled softly as he neared her. Ceridwen faced away from him, placing some of her research papers into a neat pile and then putting them into a dark covered binder. She sensed him behind her and froze.

"It seems you know more about me than I do.", Dwight mused as he stood only a hair's breadth from the back of her head. The scent of her hair now caught him. Unlike the primal scent of blood and hormones that had recently sparked his attention, Ceridwen's dark hair wafted soft flowers towards him. It was unusual and lovely. Dwight hadn't really enjoyed something like a scent or flavor since his transformation. This was almost intoxicating. He fought away another surge of energy within him as she turned to face him, slowly.

"I tried to tell you that.", she said with a soft laugh. "I've tried to tell hundreds of people that, but few listen."

"You reached an entire room full of people tonight, not many people accomplish that in a lifetime.", he said as he reached out and touched her shoulder gently. He feared that touching her might ignite something uncontrollable within him, but if he didn't confirm that she was real and in front of him then he might have gone into a fit of rage. "So you really are a healer?"

"I'd like to think so.", she replied. "It's my field of expertise at the moment. Yours happens to be flight, something I know very little, if anything at all, about."

He smiled back and folded his hands behind him. This time, he felt as though he needed to grip both wrists to remain in total control. He breathed deeply and looked into her eyes. Her soul was more than eternal, and echoed melodically in those haunting eyes.

"Then perhaps if you are going to teach me about the road ahead for me, I might teach you the sky.", he offered.

"Can you teach someone the sky?", Ceridwen said with a playful laugh as she moved to walk past him.

"Why not? You've already captured it.", he said softly. Ceridwen turned and stared at him in shock. Dwight moved towards her and growled softly. Every nerve ending in his body urged him to kiss her as he had always dreamed of doing for a young girl like her. He growled a little louder and leaned down. Ceridwen moved backwards, purring slightly. Dwight's expression changed. The memory of the fact that neither of them were the epitome of passionate young lovers in a normal sense crossed his mind. He frowned and gulped. It wouldn't matter what he desired of her, she would always be what she was and so would he. Ceridwen noticed his sudden hesitation and frowned. She looked down and turned away. As she walked silently out of the room, Dwight clenched his fist in front of his face and snarled loudly, a small surge of pain ripping through him. Jeremy was right, he couldn't be near her until her hormones had leveled and he had learned a little more discipline.


	12. The Fury Before the Storm

Chapter 12: Fury Before the Storm

Dwight confronted Jeremy in the hallway not but a few mere moments after Ceridwen had left him standing in the study. He told the protective youth that he had decided that Ceridwen was still infuriating to him, and therefore needed to be kept away. Jeremy needed no further explanation. Dwight made one small request of him as he moved to close the door to his room; he wanted whatever copies were available of Ceridwen's research and recent developments in the treatment of the virus. Jeremy sighed and agreed, it was worth it to keep the blood-sucker away from his sister. On about the fifth day of solitude, Dwight walked over to the darkened window of his room and stared at it pensively. It had been so long since he had simply looked up at the night sky. The sky was a problem to be solved, a puzzle to work through in order to accomplish the goal of fleeing. He had lost the wonderment and joy that the common dreamer at seeing the stars and the ever changing moon. He looked towards the chest of drawers and walked towards it cautiously. He opened the top drawer and withdrew a precious item from his plane. He looked down at the weathered cover of the photo album and breathed heavily. He fought away the sadness that began to grip him and walked over to the bed to sit down.

Dwight softly caressed the raised emblem and words on the cover, then opened to the first page. Profiles of his father and mother in beautiful black and white. He turned the pages slowly, taking in the sight of his mother and father with remorse and nostalgia. By the middle of the book, there were pictures of himself as a small boy, then one of him as a young man. He stood next to Helene, his family's plane. The small black Cessna that now served as his only means of real liberty had been aquired in the mid seventies when he had decided to take to flying again. The poor old girl had been beaten severely by a thunderstorm and had been sent to be scrapped. Dwight had taken the same pity and resolution in restoring the dark beauty that Ceridwen was taking for him. After placing the red edging on the plane to complete the look he desired, Dwight had given her a fitting name. Lenore was not only the maiden that remained unnamed by the raven, but it was his father's affectionate term for his mother. She had been called Ellie by her family and Nora by school chums, but it was Angus, and Angus alone, that called her the sweet name Lenore. Dwight allowed one tear to fall at the pain in remembering their love for one another, then their love for him. He turned to the final page and furrowed his brow at what lay within the cover.

Attached by one small strip of tape to the back inside cover, was a small piece of paper folded into fourths. He reached down and pulled it from the album, unfolding the thin mystery slowly. Drawn quickly with black ink was a map and a few coordinates in case the map was not clear enough. Below the drawing were the words, 'Deny them, be free once more'. Dwight frowned. The want to fly away from here and put all of this behind him was everpresent in his mind, but lately it had come second to the desire to know more about Ceridwen and learn what she had. He crumpled the paper and tossed it under the bed. He turned to the left as a crash of thunder sounded beyond the mansion walls and jostled the foundation. Dwight listened carefully. A small twinge of pain shot through the back of his neck. He growled softly as his ears began to ring painfully.

Ceridwen raced out of her room and into the hallway. She breathed quickly as she ran to Jeremy's room and knocked furiously on the door. Jeremy opened the door, getting dressed. He had obviously heard the same unsettling atmospheric disturbance. He, however, looked nearly angry instead of afraid. Ceridwen stared at him in confusion.

"What is it?", Ceridwen asked softly. Her voice trembled while she held her body still.

"I radioed headquarters to see about the weather in our area since the computers and phones are now dead.", Jeremy said as he buttoned his shirt. A second wave of thunder rumbled the mansion and the earth that held it. Ceridwen nodded once, motioning for him to continue. "The radio won't work. This is an electric storm."

Ceridwen's expression dropped. She looked down and to the side. Jeremy reached behind him and took a small box from the shelf near the door. Ceridwen's eyes lit up in terror. She knew well what was in the kit Jeremy was holding.

"Jeremy, you can't.", she whispered.

"That chip will short out and be completely useless. This is a perfectly humane way of letting him go.", Jeremy said. He opened the lid and examined the syringe of seerum inside. The seerum was a synthetic form of lycangrophine, the hormone that created the vampiric and lycan viruses in their purest forms. Ceridwen had been on the team that had discovered the hormone as being the same for both viruses and had concocted a genius theory about vampires because of it. The seerum, in large doses, also caused encephalitis in victims already suffering from the virus. Supposedly, the subjects that were terminated by injecting the fluid into the neck, lost consciousness and died painlessly. Ceridwen still heard the sounds of her mother howling in pain at her death; a death that was also supposed to have been quick and painless. Ceridwen loathed the idea of killing anything unless it was in the heat of a fight for one's life. As a third rumble of thunder rattled through the sky, she reached out quickly and slammed her hand on the lid. "Don't defend him now, Ceridwen. He will start killing without the chip to stop him."

"No, he won't. We will sedate him. We have plenty of drugs to do it and we can wait out the storm with him anesthetized.", she instructed. Jeremy growled and rolled his eyes. Ceridwen snarled back and grabbed the box away from him. "We did not go through five months of preparation and begging to give up on him, on all of this."

"Ceridwen it's going to be a choice between your theories and what bizarre little obsession you have for him, put against your own life. You can cling to him and get your throat torn out before you have a chance to really prove anything, or you can let this one go and keep trying.", he said firmly.

"I cannot prove my theories at all unless he succeeds.", she said in a low tone. A crash of thunder as loud as the first tore through the air. "I have never been wrong about medical matters, Jeremiah. Go and get all the sedatives you can. I will go and make sure that he is sleeping right now."

Jeremy frowned and looked away. Ceridwen growled. He looked down at his psuedo-sibling with sorrow and anger.

"Ceri, I really don't think..."

"I gave you an order, Jeremiah. I am head of this team and you will do as I say when it comes to this subject. Now go and get the sedatives and our medics.", she said firmly. Jeremy frowned. He said nothing as he turned and walked angrily towards the rest of the mansion. Ceridwen watched and heaved a huge sigh. This was not a good situation and even she was not sure that her plan would work. Her faith in Dwight, herself, her God, and her colleagues were the only things that spurred her to act instead of curling up in her room in fear and desperation. Thunder growled as loudly as Ceridwen had wanted to do at seeing the kit in Jeremy's hand. She turned towards Dwight's room and walked hurriedly to see about him. Hopefully, he could sleep through anything since that first crash of thunder alone had been almost enough to wake the dead.

Dwight writhed in agony on the floor as searing pain coursed through his entire body beginning at his temples. He cried, moaning and growling. Ceridwen could clearly hear the inhuman howling and mortal lamenting in Dwight's room. She frowned and moved towards the door hurriedly. She grabbed the doorhandle and flung the door open, racing into the room. She immediately saw the pitiful form of the once proud man of darkness lying in pain on the floor near the dresser. She cried out and ran over to him, kneeling and taking hold of his shoulders. She held onto him tightly trying to calm him.

"Dwight! What's wrong, what happened?", she cried. Dwight continued to howl and scream for several moments, fighting Ceridwen away from him. "Calm down, tell me what's happened!"

Dwight suddenly felt an overwhelming rage take him. The sound of Ceridwen's once tender voice became an intense irritation. He growled and reached for her. Ceridwen stayed still and leaned down to allow him to grasp her shoulder and speak near her face. Instead, Dwight grabbed her throat and pressed down harsher than ever. Ceridwen began to cough and gag. He sat up, snarling into her face as she clawed at his wrist, trying to pull him off of her. Dwight felt rush of energy at causing another being pain. The terror and desperation in her eyes grew by the second. Suddenly, she let her hands drop to her sides and went limp in his grasp. Dwight smiled and stood slowly, taking hold of the young girl firmly. He breathed deeply and reached down to her. She was feigning unconsciousness, he could smell this. She would not be able to keep up the charade for long. He took one finger and extended a long, thick claw. Ceridwen's eyes opened instinctively as she sensed something dangerous transpiring. She gasped for a brief second as Dwight lowered his hand to her neck, holding her firmly in the other hand.

His claw pierced the soft skin near her jugular, without severing the vein itself. He made a large incision, sliding his finger backwards. Hot, fresh, dark blood began to course freely from the great wound. He chuckled softly and opened his mouth to its widest. His form had changed somewhat, becoming the gruesome visage that had terrified much of the east coast. He lowered his mouth to her neck and breathed in the heat and fluid. Ceridwen let out a final scream in the back of her mind as darkness enveloped her. Dwight allowed her thick, sensual essence to fill his mouth and ignite his senses. He growled happily and took a longer drink. His inner thoughts told him to stop for now, too much would kill the girl and the fun would be ended before it truly began. He pulled his face to less than an inch away from her neck and slid his tongue along the wound, sealing it with the thick saliva this form produced. He reached up with his face still close to her, pressing the edges of the cut together so that the bloodloss would be stopped for the moment. He moaned softly, feeling the wonderful livelihood that he had been denied by this team for days. He set her gently onto the floor and moved towards the bed. While Dwight felt a slight twinge of carnal desire for the girl, his mind was set on what was underneath the bed rather than what could be in the bed. He reached under the frame and grabbed the wad of paper.

Another crash of thunder lit the sky and shattered the atmosphere. He looked up, his eyes darting to and fro in confusion. He sniffed and breathed heavily. There was an enormous swelling of power in the atmosphere, something that would inhibit flight or at least cause severe malfunctions in the instruments. Still, he could get away. He could wait for the storm to pass. He smelled the extent of the tumult as being only another ten minutes long. He looked down at the paper and studied it carefully. These directions were fairly easy. The destination on the map was a warehouse that he had visited years ago. It had served as storehouse for grain products in the early fifties. He took Ceridwen in both arms once more, heaving her over one shoulder. She would be no trouble for the next few moments. This was wonderful. The operatives would not expect him to be able to leave if they believed much of what was said about vampires throughout myth. Ceridwen had tried to undo that, but as had been pointed out to the girl many times already, few people listened to her or understood what she said. The operatives wouldn't expect Dwight to leave without the 'grave' that he kept in the back of his plane. Dwight had actually used the pile of earth that he had taken from his family's plot to continue to confuse any authorities and scare away any humans that discovered his exsistance. He didn't need it at all. What he did need was fuel. Dwight knew for a fact that no intelligent human would have the plane there without at least a small supply of fuel in portable ferry tanks. He would now be able to sniff them out. As Dwight left the room, Jeremy approached the doorway. He stood perfectly still as Dwight stared at him. Jeremy noticed Ceridwen laying unconscious in the vampire's arms. He breathed deeply and laughed quietly, rolling up his sleeves.

"I warned you, Renfield.", Jeremy said in a low tone. "I hope you've made peace with God."

"I doubt you are concerned for my soul, Jeremiah. No more than I care for the state in which your comrades find you.", Dwight said as he set the girl on the floor. Jeremy frowned. Dwight smiled, allowing his two fangs to extend menacingly. "Care to see a glimpse of the otherworld?"

Jeremy said nothing more as he leapt at Dwight and threw a punch into the aged man's face. Dwight moved to the left, catching Jeremy by one arm and his jaw. Jeremy cried out as Dwight reared back. He snarled into the young man's face for a swift second. Jeremy had no time to react as Dwight hurled him down the extent of the hallway. The young vampire snickered as the boy landed with a sickening thud and a loud crack. At least one bone was badly broken. Dwight hoped it was something necessary. He reached down and picked up Ceridwen again, holding her tightly as they descended down the stairway. He had only a few yards to his full freedom.


	13. Escaping the Safehouse

Chapter 13: Escaping the Safehouse

Dwight carried Ceridwen out to the hangar quickly. Even with Jeremiah fully unconscious, he was sure that there would be at least one person in his way if he did not get away soon. He had six minutes before the storm would clear. That would be plenty of time to find the fuel and fill the tank for takeoff. He grabbed the handle on the hangar door and wrenched it open. Ceridwen shifted, groaning softly. She felt extremely warm to him at the moment. He wondered if she was reacting to his 'bite' since she was not entirely human herself. He opened the door to the small, dark plane and set Ceridwen inside, slamming the door shut. He turned and sniffed intently. There was fuel, not as much as he had hoped, but enough to get them to the warehouse. Even with the device deactivated, Dwight still wanted to be free of its presence as well as the tiresome girl's. Craig had said dead or alive; and at the moment Dwight wasn't sure which he would have enjoyed more. He walked over to the door that led to what he supposed was the supply room. Flamables always needed to be kept seperate and safe from the planes themselves in hangars. He pulled the heavy door open and looked into the darkness. His keen vision even without light revealed at least four tanks of fuel. He smiled and took one, walking back towards his plane to finish. Thunder rumbled in the distance as the storm began to clear the atmosphere. It was odd that such a powerful disturbance had come this way so quickly and then lasted only a moment. He heard Ceridwen begining to shift in the plane itself. He growled softly and went back for a second container of fuel. After only a few minutes, Dwight had used three of the containers and had ample fuel for his escape. He went back to the supply closet for one more item; cord. There was a roll of it on a hook at the back of the room, clearly used for vehicles like cars and trucks. It wouldn't seem right to lash something to the hood of an airplane, after all.

He listened for a moment to make sure that they were still without anyone near the hangar. To his relief, either no one had found Jeremiah, or they were far too busy tending to him to come out after Ceridwen and himself. He smiled and opened the door to the small craft. He pulled Ceridwen's lifeless form to him for a moment, binding her writs in front of her. She seemed to be burning with fever in fighting the venom he had transmitted. He grunted as he pushed her back into the hold of the tiny plane and climbed in to take the controls. He heard another soft roll of thunder and frowned. They were going to have to fly into part of the storm to get away. Luckily, it seemed that the surge of power had faded, leaving only the lighting, wind, rain, and thunder to contend with. Dwight wondered for a moment if the power surge had been generated by something, but dismissed it in realizing that nothing he had seen in this area could have done that without serious side effects to the person generating it. He made sure that the hangar entrance was open enough for Lenore, and then started the engine. His heart raced with excitement and hunger as he pushed forward on the controls and urged the craft out of the hangar. His mind went numb for a moment, his form shifting back to human as the blood drained from his face. A powerful cold hit him as he thrust the throttle forward, moving the plane into the sky. He held his breath as his spirit leapt forward, this was freedom. How he had missed it so. The plane sped forward towards the warehouse less than two hours away.

An hour later, Ceridwen woke slowly. The rumble of the engine seemed very strange to her. She tried to sit up and discover why she was hearing such a loud and horrible noise. She found that she was positioned uncomfortably in the bellyhold of the small black Cessna that had ferried Dwight from victim to victim. Her heart began to race as the chloroform wore out of her system. The drogginess she was still feeling told her that perhaps this might still have been a dream. The plane jostled with the storm's turbulance, causing Ceridwen to slam into the side of the harsh, metal prison. Ceridwen suddenly realized that her hands were bound at the wrists, making movement very limited in the hold. She gasped and felt her mind and heart begin to race uncontrollably. Her mouth went completely dry.

"Dwight?", she whispered. It was the only thing she could think to say. A million scenarios and reasons for this excursion went through her mind. The most obvious was exactly what the young vampire was doing. Ceridwen tried to push that out of her mind. Dwight was a good man, he had shown her kindness and trust. She should do the same. She breathed deeply and spoke louder. "Dwight?"

Dwight gripped the controls. He was struggling to keep the small craft completely alight despite the storm and his better judgement. He knew, in his moral centre, that what he was doing was not for the betterment of mankind at all. It was selfish and cruel, nothing more. He remembered being held against his will at the mansion. He had been without freedom. He had been given food, shelter, and even the kindness of a stranger. Was freedom really worth sacrificing all of that? He shook his head and focused back on the sky in front of him. Ceridwen's voice suddenly reached his ears. In the turmoil going on outside the plane, he had been unable to hear her heart as it began to race madly. Now, it raced clearly in his conscious. He breathed just as deeply as Ceridwen, and tried to ignore her as she began to call for him desperately. Ceridwen repeated his name over and over, sounding more pleading and frightened with each cry.

"Silence yourself!", he ordered as he turned around for a moment. Ceridwen froze as she recognized both his voice and the look of his profile from the pilot's seat. He turned back to the front. The curtain that had once seperated him from the hold itself was gone for the time being. Ceridwen had removed it when cleaning the vehicle. Dwight sighed with relief as Ceridwen became silent. He frowned as he heard the increase in her pulse. She must have been trembling for the rate to be so high. "Go back to sleep, Ceridwen."

"Where are we going?", she asked calmly. He said nothing, continuing to focus on the storm. "Dwight, why did we need to leave? Was I in danger? Were you in danger?"

"Both.", he lied firmly. "Go back to sleep, Ceridwen."

"What is going on, Dwight? I trust you, but I am frightened.", she admitted. He chuckled softly at the surge of power he felt in hearing this. He had almost forgotten the rush he experienced when he terriffied a mortal. "Why am I bound like this?"

"Why was I given the device? It prevents your escaping before you've served your purpose.", he said. He turned once more as a flash of lightning lit up the sky ahead. "I will tell you one last time, Ceridwen. Be silent and go back to sleep."

Ceridwen scooted forward as best she could, holding out her hands to him. She reached to try and take hold of his arm. Dwight noticed this and tipped the right wing. Ceridwen shrieked as she toppled to one side, her body colliding with the walls again. The bruising from the last collision was still throbbing on her head, shoulders, and back. She grunted as her face, chest, and knees were added to the list of pain. She began to pant loudly, nearly screaming in pain with each breath as it fought to escape her lungs.

"Dwight, please take us back. You're upset, I can see that. I know we can talk about this and make it right.", she said softly. She moved a little closer to the cockpit. Dwight growled and tipped the left wing. Ceridwen grunted again as she slammed into the opposite wall, now breaking her lip open. Dwight smelled the blood and fought the urge to turn. This was the most difficult it had ever been for him. "Please, Dwight, please just take us back. You'll be fine, no one will know about this. Would you like to start flying regularly? I can arrange that. I can, really. Please, just please take us back.", she cried as she shook. Dwight felt a twinge of pity and guilt ripping through him at the sound of her voice, the smell of her blood, and the feel of her pounding heart. She reached again, this time making it to the cockpit and touching the collar of his cloak. "Please take us back."

"I am going to take back my freedom and my life such as it is, Ceridwen. Even if it means sacrificing yours.", he said. Ceridwen moved her hand to the back of his head. Dwight her touch the base of his head. He frowned as he felt the urge to transform become more powerful. Another flash of lightning crashed accross the sky. Dwight moved to avoid it, tipping the plane to the right again. This time, Ceridwen toppled forward and to the right. Dwight watched as she hit several buttons and knobs all at once. She grunted in terrible pain and clutched her side. He growled in frustration as he centered them again. Ceridwen began to cry madly in both pain and fear. He turned and snarled at her as an all too familiar whistle began to come from the plane's engine. The rumble of the gears within the framework ceased. Dwight's eyes widened. "Oh dear.", he said softly.

Ceridwen stared at him with concern. "No.", she suddenly said. She moved herself to kneeling beside Dwight. "No, you're a pilot. You're a good pilot, there is no 'oh dear'; you don't say that!", she exclaimed as her breathing began to speed faster than even the propellor could match. "Why isn't the engine making noise?!!"

"I'm afraid her engine has cut-off.", he said with a frown. "This is embarrassing."

"Embarrassing!?! What's embarrassing!?!"

"I have never, ever, crashed in my entire carreer as a pilot.", he stated proudly.

"Well, I won't see your precious reputation ruined! Start the engine!", she yelled. Dwight turned and glared at her. She stared back in sheer horror as he shook his head and turned back to the front. She grabbed his chin and held it in front of her. "Something's broken, fix it _**now**_!", she screamed.

"Be calm. We'll simply glide in, we're not that far as it is.", he stated sitting back. "We can walk the rest of the way. Hold on to something as we touch the earth."

"Hold on to what?! I can barely hold on to anything!", she shouted. Dwight turned, infuriated, and extended one claw. He reached down and sliced through the ropes binding her wrists. She grunted and fell backwards before taking hold of part of the frame. Dwight turned back to the windshield and watched as they descended clumsily to the ground. He kept a tight grip on the throttle as they made contact with the earth. Ceridwen screamed terribly as they skidded to a halt. Lightning continued to flash around them as rain pelted against the side of the plane. Thunder rumbled almost as loudly as the girl's heart. Dwight turned to her and took her by the arm. She said nothing, still sobbing and panting simultaneously.

"Get up.", he ordered. Ceridwen made no movement. She closed her eyes and clutched her chest. Dwight growled and took her by the wrist, tossing her outside. He climbed out and picked her up by the collar, setting her on her feet on the ground. "Walk, we're not that far.", he instructed. He reached down to pull her with him. Another flash of lightning glowed as it spread over the sky. In the brief moment of light, Dwight could see that his hands were not human, the skin had become cragged and grey as that of a corpse. His claws were fully extended on each apendage. He felt a wave of shock wash over him and rock him back and forth. He didn't feel out of control at the moment, he still felt like himself despite the obvious fact that he had transmorphed into vampiric form. He looked down at Ceridwen. He smiled. The high energies he obtained from hearing a frightened scream or seeing a look of pure terror would help them reach Drakeman's headquarters quickly. He shook Ceridwen angrily until she opened her eyes. Ceridwen opened them and stared up at him. Dwight waited patiently.

Ceridwen made no sound. Her face was expressionless. She simply gazed back at him as if she had no blood in her at all for the moment. Dwight frowned and roared at her, extending his fangs. Ceridwen swallowed hard and stared back. What was wrong with her? Wasn't he hideous? Wasn't she terriffied? He growled and moved his face closer to hers. Ceridwen remained silent and expressionless as he snarled into her face. Dwight was too focused to notice as the young girl moved one hand towards his face. He jumped slightly as he felt her small, warm hand brush his face. She rested it gently on one cheek and then moved up her other to do the same. Dwight looked from side to side in confusion as another crash of lightning and booming thunder raced through the sky.

"Your eyes, they're like my father's were. I've never seen that before.", she whispered. He felt his expression drop as she did something completely unnatural. She smiled at him. "They're so beautiful. You have such beautiful eyes.", she said quietly. Dwight felt her hands slide away from his face and watched as she stood silently in front of him once more. He forced the right thing to say through his mind.

"Why do you not scream _now_? Am I not a nightmare? Aren't I a heartless monster?", he asked quietly. Ceridwen frowned and stared at him in disappointment. The glisten of sadness in her eyes enraged him. He growled and grabbed both her shoulders, holding her a captive of his own hatred in front of him. "Aren't I?!", he yelled.

Ceridwen felt the warmth of several tears course uncontrollably from her eyes. She looked deeply into his and lowered her voice. "No, Dwight. You are not a monster.", she replied in a sad whisper. "I can't see anything in you, but the schoolboy that caught me when I fell, the gentleman that defended my brother without merit, and the man that cries desperately for something other than the hell that life has dealt him."

He stared back at her in quiet awe. He released her shoulders and waited as she looked down. She wiped the blood from her swollen lip and gazed at him in a weary stare of heartbreak. She felt truly betrayed. Not just by Dwight, but by her own senses. He moved towards her. Ceridwen winced and looked away. Dwight frowned as he felt a burning in his chest. The want to erase every cell of negative emotion in her body became overwhelming as she began to sob madly. She sank to her knees and laid on the ground, weeping. Dwight felt another sting, but this time not in his chest. He felt a burning in his eyes as he transmorphed back. His soft, green, human eyes shed tears for the first time in almost a century. He knelt, holding onto his head. What had he done? The magnitude of his sins came crashing against him. He had murdered innocents before, without nearly this much guilt. This was different, this girl had risked her very life to help him. What had he done for her that came close to even a fraction of this conviction? He had done more than simply try to take another life, he had betrayed someone that deeply cared for him just as his sire had done. While Ceridwen might not have seen a monster, all of the facts racing through his mind said otherwise.

He reached down and rolled her towards him to comfort her and apologize. His eyes went wide and he turned, fighting off another transformation. Her right side was open and bleeding where one of the instruments must have punctured her. The wound seemed superficial, but Ceridwen's breathing was changing. It did not slow, but it did become more shallow. Dwight tried to remember what it was that his father had called this condition. He remembered being told that it was common in wound victims of anykind. The memory came back. Quite simply, it was called 'shock'. She had, after all, already lost a good deal of her blood to him when he had transformed at the begining of this incident. He grunted as he pulled her head off of the ground and pulled her upper body towards him. What was the proper treatment for such things? He poured through a hundred thoughts and memories all at once. Nothing from his far past was helping. Then he suddenly remembered the lecture he had listened to secretly when they had been at the mansion.

"Vampires that suffer massive wounds that are still in the infant or adolescant stages of the virus, suffer from a severe form of shock. The blood they lose is precious. Even though they may survive substantially longer than a normal human in this position, they will be utterly miserable and possibly beyond help unless treated properly.", she had stated. "If, God forbid, this should occur; lie the victim on their back and cover them to keep them warm. Elevate the feet above heart level and cushion the head if at all possible. In cases of bloodloss, feed a vampiric victim plasma. Everyone have that?"

Dwight snapped back to the present and took his cloak off immediately. Ceridwen groaned as the rain continued to pelt against them. Dwight picked her up quickly and headed towards his plane. He opened the door with one hand, and then began moving Ceridwen inside. He laid her back in the hold again and wrapped his cloak around her body tightly. He tried to think for a moment of what the next best thing to do would be. He pulled off his jacket and rolled it into a makeshift cushion. He lifted her ankles for a moment and then placed his jacket underneath them. Ceridwen breathed a little more quietly after a moment. Dwight gave a long sigh of relief. He reached down and touched her head softly. He would simply explain to the group that Ceridwen was too intelligent and had escaped him. She seemed to have deactivated the device somehow for the time being. He still needed it removed. He drew in a deep breath and started to exit the plane. He turned as Ceridwen shifted and moaned. He sighed and watched her for a moment.

"Keep still, Ceridwen, and stay here. I will return after a few moments to get you back and get help.", he said softly. He turned back to the door of the plane, smiling. "I'm not heartless, after all."

Dwight closed the door to the plane and turned. He stopped and gasped as a group of people stood in front of him. All of them were dressed in bizarre and dark clothing; all of them had deathly pale skin, and all of them smelled of the virus. He stared at the small crowd of his own kind for a moment. He had never been around more than one of his kindred at a time. This was almost frightening. He growled and glared at them, bearing his fangs as a warning. The group parted into two sections allowing a man forward. Dwight's expression dropped as the familiar figure came towards him.

"It's been far too long, Dwight.", the man said in an icy hiss.

"Dilbert.", Dwight whispered as his heart sank. In all of his years as a vampire, he had longed and dreamed about confronting this demon; but he had never prepared for it. The same terror that had taken all of his victims before he had mercilessly torn them limb from limb suddenly washed over him, and he found himself only able to mutter the same words that they had. "Oh, God. Help me."


	14. Wicked Revelation

Chapter 14: Wicked Revelation

Dwight stared at the man in complete terror and awe for several moments. Dilbert stepped closer, causing Dwight to stumble backwards and land uncermoniously on the ground. Dilbert chuckled and opened the door to the plane.

"My, my, my; what have we here? A little friend or perhaps an entree'?" Dilbert said with a laugh. Dwight remained frozen as Dilbert reached in and dragged Ceridwen from the hold. The vampires surrounding their obvious master reached out and helped take hold of her. "Which was it this time, Dwight?"

"You were gone," Dwight whispered. Dilbert laughed more coldly at the young vampire's frightened reaction to his sire. He knelt and leaned over Dwight with a wicked smile.

"I was never gone, you fool. I waited patiently nearby to see if you could come to your senses. Do you honestly think that fate had anything in store for you other than my plans? No. Your parents saw little in you as did your superiors around you," he sneered. "I can see that you are going to be useless in trying to further our kind by indoctrinating others, but you have done us a wonderful service in bringing this girl to us."

"You know her?" Dwight choked as Dilbert leaned even closer. Dwight scooted backwards, trying to convince himself that this was a nightmare, another nightmare and nothing more. He must have fallen into a stupor when he had been in pain on the floor of his bedroom.

"Now I do. You see, Dwight, there are more connections among the ones of my world than you and your deluded friends would care to realize. I am in link with others in the rest of the world; Europe, Asia, even Africa," he mused. "But could you accept such a magnificent gift on my part? Of course not. No matter, there are many who have known of young Ceridwen's exsistance for years. Once we have her knowledge and then find her sister and master, we will have everything we need to survive for a dark eternity."

"Ceridwen's sire is dead, it was her father. She has no master," Dwight thought aloud as he looked from side to side. Dilbert tilted his head back and laughed as his own form changed. Dwight felt every ounce of blood left in his body freeze all at once. The twisted, grey enemy before him reached down and took hold of his throat, squeezing tightly. Dwight gagged and grabbed at the decayed hand in desperation.

"Her father might have transmitted the disease, but you can be sure that the originator is cunning enough to still be alive. All of us that are intelligent find a way to survive, Dwight," he rasped and pulled Dwight up as he stood. He held him up, causing the younger creature to struggle for breath and freedom. "There will always be emnity between the creatures of the moon and the servants of blood, but through Ceridwen's years of knowledge, we might co-exsist long enough to enjoy our plight among the humans that feed us."

"Let her go," Dwight coughed, clawing furiously at Dilbert. He found that he had no strength or coordination enough to transform entirely and fight the man away.

"How cliche'. The unwilling monster wishes to undo the sins of his past by defending the hapless young maiden. This is not a fairytale, Dwight, and you are not a handsome prince under a wicked spell," Dilbert said as he began to extend his longer and sharper fangs. "You are nosferatu, strigoi, a vampire; and not a charming rogue with a tortured hunger for blood, you are an insatiable force against humanity. It is a shame that you never learned to cope with this enough to make yourself into a useful member of society. I'm afraid it spells destruction for you."

"No, I won't die yet," Dwight gasped as Dilbert gave an instructive squeeze to silence him. Dwight closed his eyes for a moment and tried to draw in as much air as he could. The vampires around him began to hiss and snicker at his predicament. Dwight could smell and feel their lust for Ceridwen's blood and his destruction.

"Of course you won't. All good things take time," Dilbert turned to the others around them and smiled. "This will take about eight hours from what I understand," he chuckled as he heaved Dwight into the air and tossed him to two much stronger men. "Take him out to the landing strip behind the safehouse. Bind him to something and watch him carefully. You wish to see the light of day as a normal mortal once more? That is impossible, but you will see it at least one more time before it kills you. Oh, and I'm afraid it's quite a long and painful way to die."

"You..." Dwight began. He was silenced as one of the men pounded their fist into his abdomen twice. Dwight reeled forward and coughed as the two held onto him. Dilbert frowned and strode over to him, grabbing him firmly by the chin.

"This hardly seems typical enough a death for the reformed protagonist of a story, am I right friends?" he said pulling Dwight's face to his. The others laughed and answered in agreement. Dilbert pulled Dwight's head to his face and yanked down his collar firmly, ripping it away from his neck and shoulder. "Now comes the part where the ominous villain reveals the entire plot he has in store for the world and the damsel in distress. Let us see if you have it in you to undo any of it."

Dwight's eyes widened for a brief moment as Dilbert extended his fangs fully. He cried out as his sire bit harshly into his neck and drained several seconds of precious blood from him. In the period of agony, Dwight saw visions of Ceridwen writhing in pain and begging for mercy, then an older man being torn apart by the group alongside a younger girl, finally he saw Dilbert sitting comfortably in a large room with the group of vampires around him as they laughed and drank dark fluid from goblets. The corners of the final room had no less than three bloodless corpses piled in them each. Dwight struggled madly to try and rid himself of the memory and thought of Dilbert succeeding. He found himself feeling very weak and terribly sad. He tried to force strength and courage into his tired, thirsting veins. It was no use for the moment, Dilbert had known the right amount to take of Dwight's blood to make him suffer. Dilbert pulled his fangs painfully out of the youth's neck and then reached down to his chest and ripped away the rest of his shirt, leaving him bare to the fate he had been assigned. The older man chuckled softly as his eyes glowed with the younger's desperation and hope.

"Get to it quickly. We won't be able to start on the girl for another four days when her blood is fully cleansed," Dilbert instructed. Dwight felt a twinge of hope. He didn't know fully what Dilbert intended or meant, but he guessed that it couldn't be done as long as Ceridwen was still menstruating. He allowed himself to rest and relax a little as the men dragged him away. He needed to gather every ounce of power within him to fight back.

Dwight watched helplessly as the large group of his kind carried away Ceridwen with his sire not far behind them. Dwight couldn't remember feeling more desperate or guilt ridden in years. Seeing Dilbert after the display of purity by the girl had jarred emotions and ideas within him that had become all but completely dormant over the years. He moved as best he could as the two stronger men dragged him off towards the warehouse. Dwight tried desperately to fight away the fear and sadness that he had with a swelling of anger. He tried to think of some phrase, voice, or sight to focus on and incite rage within himself. Unfortunately, the sight of Dilbert's form and the sound of his voice continued to play over and over again. He groaned as they walked further and further from the safety of his plane. Dwight began to feel more weak as blood trickled from the wound on his neck. Pain and warmth were fighting for a greater presence in his body. He drew in a deep breath and raised his head to get a better look at his captors. As he lifted his head, the scent of his blood became clearer. Dwight felt ill at first, then began to feel an incredible hunger. The loss of blood was no longer making him as weak, it was making him angry. He growled softly and breathed more deeply. The scent grew stronger, urging his thirst further and stronger. The growl became louder as he breathed. His captors stopped and looked at one another for a moment, then down at their prisoner. Dwight smiled at feeling the hesitation in both of them at once. The bloodlust in him now knew exactly what to accomplish what he wanted.

"Something wrong, gentleman?" Dwight asked with a snarl. The two reared back and readied to beat the younger man senseless. Dwight gripped both of them by one arm and wrenched them backwards, yanking them firmly from the shoulder socket. The two cried out and stumbled backwards. Dwight turned and growled, transforming as they looked back at him. The first ran forward with fangs extended. Dwight caught him by the other shoulder and flipped him into the air, slamming him firmly into the ground. The man's body made a sickening crack as his back snapped into two pieces on the ground. The second stood still for a moment, then turned to run back towards the group. Dwight growled and flew after him, catching him by the hair and throwing him in the opposite direction. He landed a few feet further than his compatriot with a loud thud. Dwight smiled brightly as the anger glowed through his eyes. He moved back towards his plane and inhaled every ounce of energy he could muster. He didn't know exactly what Dilbert wanted with Ceridwen or what he truly intended to do to get it, but he was quite sure that with the right amount of help, he could stop it. He hoped that not only would his plane be capable of starting, but that he would have sufficient fuel for getting back. He climbed cautiously back into his plane and started the engine quickly. There was only one person that could help him do this properly with the same interest in Ceridwen's safety, Jeremiah.

Jeremy regained consciousness long after Dwight had left the grounds. The other operatives had treated his broken shoulder and twisted arm with extreme caution after sending someone to look for Ceridwen and Dwight. Jeremy had wasted no time in jumping to conclusions and then trying to find out what exactly Dwight had done with his sister. He hurried back into Dwight's bedroom after a few minutes of frantic searching and found exactly what he was looking for, the map to the warehouse's location. The other operatives had tried to reason with him to try and go about things properly by arranging for a retrieval team. Jeremy had used two words in telling the operatives that he was going to act alone and only one of them was 'no'. Jeremy hurried out to the garage that was hidden on the grounds and started one of the vehicles towards the nearest airfield. Jeremy felt a welling of frustration as he thought about the best way to set out after Dwight. Pain beyond anything he had felt before began to overtake him. He had never broken a bone or had a serious sprain in his life despite his poor luck. Just as the young man decided on one vehicle specifically, a familiar rumbling began to sound outside on the grounds. Jeremy growled and raced outside as best he could with only one functional arm.

He felt his heart racing with hatred as the small, black Cessna landed near the hangar. Jeremy had gone over in his head what he would say to each of them if the despicable freak ended up convinced to return by the pleading of his sister. He stormed angrily over to the small dark craft as it settled on the ground. The door opened slowly and allowed its pilot out, just in range of Jeremy. The youth took a harsh swing at the vampire with his good arm, sideswiping Dwight's face as he turned around. The older man fell back against the plane.

"I'm going to send you into the next reality, you blood-sucking bully!" Jeremy exclaimed as he advanced on Dwight. "Ceridwen, get out here!"

Dwight scooted himself to his knees and tried to stand.

"Stay down, you freak!" Jeremy yelled as he bent his good arm and slammed his elbow against Dwight's left shoulder, sending him forward. "Ceridwen, hurry up!"

"Jeremiah..." Dwight coughed as he grabbed hold of the plane's frontmost wheel and tried to push himself upward with it.

"Shut up, bat-boy!" Jeremy shouted hatefully. He made yet another fist with his good arm effortlessly and pelted to the side of Dwight's head again. Dwight flew two feet to the right of the wheel and groaned. "Ceridwen!?"

"She's not in there," Dwight muttered. Jeremy ignored him and opened the door to the plane angrily.

"Ceri?!" he shouted into the darkness of the hold. There was nothing in the back of the flying monument save the rest of the rope and an empty ferry tank. Dwight had been fortunate enough to have the foresight to bring along extra fuel just in case. He had been forced to land several miles away from the group that had taken Ceridwen and give his plane a little more energy to run. As Jeremy moved a little further into the plane, looking around and calling for his sister, Dwight climbed to his feet. He rubbed the side of his head and jaw pensively as he walked over to the open door on the plane and leaned against it.

"She isn't there, Jeremiah," Dwight said louder. Jeremy scrambled clumsily out of the plane and glared at the man. He reached up and grabbed Dwight by the shoulder, forcing him down in front of him.

"Where is she? Huh!? Where's my sister?!" Jeremy demanded. "And what in God's name happened to your clothes? You better not have had your perverted little way with her!"

"Firstly, Jeremiah, we all know that she isn't really your sister. Secondly, she's been taken captive," Dwight rasped. He felt the urge to transform become overwhelming. He roared softly and squeezed his eyes shut as they began to glow. His skin had already begun to change and his claws had extended somewhat. Jeremy growled and stepped backwards. "My sire, the one that turned me, he has her."

"Somekind of lover's quarrel or something? Because if you are the cause of it, you had better march yourself back there, give in, and send my sister back!" Jeremy cried frantically. "We've got enough trouble going on at headquarters now that I've been able to reach them again. Do you have any idea how it will look for her to come up missing on our report?!"

"Careless on your part, I'd wager," Dwight said sarcastically. Jeremy grunted in frustration and smacked the vampire once more. Dwight fought off the urge to change entirely, but felt another uncontrollable wave of rage wash over him. "Be more careful, Jeremiah. I cannot undo certain things right now."

"This is something you better undo, now! Dyllis Drakeman has disappeared after somekind of wierd procclamation about purging the world of unnecessary evils," Jeremy said.

"Who is he?" Dwight asked as he finally regained his balance and felt his system calm a little.

"That's not important to you!" Jeremy spat. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a radio. "I need help out on the grounds, at least one of them returned.", he said into it after pressing a red button firmly. Dwight growled at him, then stopped.

"You're not attacking me or trying to subdue me," he thought aloud.

"Not until after you help me get Ceridwen back, then all of it breaks loose. I can tell by looking at you that you're a little shaken by something, your eyes aren't right," he said turning around. "Ceridwen's always been adamant about telling me to look at subjects' eyes to decipher problems and so on."

"I wasn't ready to face him again. If we do not hurry, he will kill Ceridwen in about four days," Dwight said. Jeremy turned around and stared at him in confusion. "He said he needed information from her of somekind that only she had and that they wouldn't be able to take it from her until her blood was cleansed four days from now."

Jeremy whirled around and headed towards the house. Dwight followed after as quickly as he could.

"Her hormones are high right now, torturing her could cause her to change as if the moon were full, then they wouldn't have much in the way of restraints that could hold her," Jeremy explained as they walked. "As to the information she has, it must be that theory she concocted about the link between vampires and werecreatures."

"Why should that matter?" Dwight asked as they sped towards the mansion.

"Vampires may be very powerful and able to transform at will, but they have enormous weakness compared to werecreatures. Ceridwen has a theory about a link between them. There have been a couple of threats made against her to hand it over to them so that they can find a way to use lycanthropic material to undo their weaknesses and add on to their strengths," Jeremy continued. "No one at the bureau would take her seriously about her theory since it is kind of out there. We're dealing with vampires and werewolves for heaven's sake, _**nothing **_is too out there!"

"Why hasn't anyone tried to protect her because of that knowledge?" Dwight asked as they reached the door.

"What do you think I'm doing all the time?" Jeremy grumbled as he grabbed the doorhandle. The door flew open, revealing a very worried and agitated older man. The man had all of Jeremy's features with several years added to them. Jeremy stumbled backwards for a moment as the door came out of his hands and flew towards him, but Dwight managed to catch him and hold him steady. "What in the world?!"

"Is this him?" the man asked. Jeremy groaned and pulled angrily away from Dwight as they headed into the house.

"Yeah, it's him," he muttered. Dwight followed Jeremy inside as the older man caught his shoulder and glared at him.

"Where's Ceridwen? Don't make me get violent," the man warned. Dwight stared at him inquisitively.

Jeremy reached over and took the man's sleeve. "Leave it alone for now, Dad. We have a mission," Jeremy instructed. "This creep is going to tell us where Ceri's being held and then we can figure out how to get her back."

"Held? As in captive?" the man exclaimed.

"Dad? As in your father?" Dwight replied in shock.


	15. The Key to Liberation

Chapter 15: The Key to Liberation 

Dwight followed Jeremy and his father into the adjoining sitting room. There were four of the other operatives in the room. Jeremy walked over to them and began giving a list of technical orders. After a few moments, the men left the room quickly, eying Dwight cautiously.

"Let's get this done fast. Ceridwen won't be unconscious for long, she's never stayed under anything very long even with having trauma to the head," Jeremy's father said worriedly. He turned to Dwight. "I'm Stephen Gameliel, by the way, Ceridwen's father. Jeremy's too." Dwight nodded and moved past him towards Jeremy who was looking through a notebook that Ceridwen had usually carried with her. Stephen took Dwight by the arm and held him firmly, speaking in a low and almost angry tone. "And hey, listen, if my son has said anything out of line or threatening to you just keep it in mind because I'll do more than he could ever fantasize. Okay?"

Dwight glared at the man. "Is everyone in your family violent?" he scoffed as he pulled free of the man's grip and headed towards Jeremy. "What are you looking for? I know where she is right now."

"That's great, really that is, but we need a plan first. We can't just go in, guns blazing like maniacs and take her away," Jeremy reasoned as he looked over a stack of papers. He pulled out one that looked like a map. "The creatures in there are all vampires, right? You said they all serve your sire."

"There are a few werewolves from what I understand," Dwight corrected.

"The socially preferred term is Lycan-American. Besides, werewolves are very rare compared to weredogs and werecats. Cats are most common," Stephen added. Dwight looked at him in confusion. Stephen smiled slightly and moved beside his son to help locate a specific item. He could sense the question buzzing through Dwight's mind. "How many people, after reading things like _Cujo_ and _Old Yeller_ are really going to walk right up to a howling dog while they can readily transmit the virus? Not many if they're sane, but plenty of people want to help the cute little kitty when it sounds like it's dying. That's usually when infections happen."

"What knowledge does she have that the rest of us don't? Surely if Dilbert has been a vampire for centuries then he knows volumes more than Ceridwen." Dwight continued to look over the young man and his father as they examined the papers carefully.

"Being a vampire doesn't mean he did scientific research into the biological and genetic aspects of it. How much do you know about yourself after eighty-something years of it?" Jeremy chided. Dwight frowned. The doors behind them burst open. Two operatives entered. Dwight could sense right away that they were there specifically to subdue him. He backed away towards the wall, snarling madly at them. He turned to Jeremy and Stephen, seething. "Where is she, Dwight?"

"I can't describe it, I need to show you." Dwight stood firmly, glaring intently at the operatives. Neither looked to be intimidating and he was sure that he hadn't seen either of them at the mansion before. "When you are ready to go, I can take you."

"Not gonna happen," Stephen said. "You see, Dwight, and I use your name since I really can't think of anything else appropriate to call you, Ceridwen would be alive and well if it weren't for you. Jeremy says that you _bit_ her before you left with her? How are we to know that you aren't here to bring us back into somekind of trap?"

"I do not suffer fools gladly, Mister Gamaliel, and I certainly do not suffer them to live if I can help it. Your son is a fool. The only reason I returned to where I know the insufferable guttersnipe would be waiting and..." he shuddered, "...breathing, is that I knew he would be willing to risk anything to save Ceridwen. Strength in the form of loyalty is what we need right now. Ceridwen has already proven that it can save lives without any other influence whatsoever."

Jeremy and Dwight stared deeply at one another for a moment. Neither moved an inch, even in breathing. Jeremy's expression straightened as he and Dwight came to a silent understanding. The two nodded.

"Touching as that is; the fact that you have the capacity to mercilessly slaughter a room full of people, as you have already proven once, remains ever present. The last thing we need is to send several important operatives into a den of wolves, pardon the wicked pun," Stephen said as he put both hands on his hips. "So just tell us where she is and you can go into confinement until someone else is ready to take your case."

"He's right. It's impossible for him to give proper directions after flying there in a storm and at night," Jeremy interjected. Dwight looked calmly and firmly at Jeremy. The two had reached a mutual understanding of what needed to be done and how. "He needs to take us there."

"Son, while I can appreciate your want to have him there for her to tie into, are you really going to trust him enough to be your pilot? You hate flying enough as it is and now your going to have _Count The Ripper _as your escort?" Stephen said.

"The controls couldn't have read properly and even if they could, it must have been dark even with all the lightning flashing. We need him to fly us. We can have a few people track our location and deploy immediately." Jeremy turned to Dwight and stared firmly at him. "That way nothing goes wrong when we rescue my sister."

"Agreed." Dwight held out one hand to Jeremy who scoffed and turned back to the book. He closed it as Stephen raced closer to them and stood in between the two.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa; son, I really think we should consider another alternative. Do you really want to be with him while he's hightailing it back to their lair?"

"Yeah, I think I do," Jeremy said with a wry smile. He walked past both his father and Dwight towards the door. He motioned for the two operatives to follow him. They nodded and snapped to attention, falling into place behind him as they left.

"Well I really don't; and I don't want you to be, either." Stephen hurried to follow the youth as Dwight whisked quickly out of the room behind the operatives.

"Someone needs to be there to make sure he doesn't make any wrong moves and start to delay things. You know, give him a little creative motivation to stay focused." Jeremy held up a small taser, clicking it on and watching the soft glow of electric sparks fly from it. He smiled as he felt Dwight back away slightly and growl. Dwight had been repeatedly at the mercy of electricity for the past week and a half. Then the electric storm had shown him what kind of real torture could be brought on by the surges of uncontrollable power at the command of the bureau. He hated to imagine the kind of nightmare that awaited him should Jeremy wield that kind of leverage. As strong as Dwight was physically; even in vampiric form, a jolt from a taser was painful and debilitating. "So I'll go."

"Alone?" Stephen exclaimed. Jeremy turned and smiled brightly at his rival. Dwight growled softly once more.

"No, not alone." Jeremy watched in amusement as Dwight's expression changed to confusion. "I think it's time to call on someone that has an equal standing with Mister Renfield, here."

"Who?" Stephen asked in complete confusion. Dwight tried to work the answer through his own mind by staring deeply into Jeremy's eyes. Jeremy continued to stand still and smile broadly at the man. Dwight's eyes suddenly widened with realization. He stepped to the side and growled louder.

"Oh, no. Not him. I'll drop both of you over the Appalachains if you bring him," Dwight growled.

"No you won't. You keep your mind on your business or we're all going down." Jeremy held up the taser once more, allowing it to fizzle with more power. Dwight chuckled coldly.

"Fair enough. We'll all go down."

"Bearing in mind that when we start to plummit with you twitching on the floor, Dees gets to take the controls since he'll be the only other pilot present." Jeremy smiled even brighter as Dwight let out a soft roar. The thought of anyone else handling Lenore was infuriating, especially Richard Dees. He turned to Jeremy and clenched one fist in front of him as he squeezed his eyes shut, preventing an instinctive transformation and the bloodletting that followed. "So we understand each other?"

"Indeed," Dwight said in the lowest tone he had ever used. Jeremy smiled and nodded to him. Dwight watched the young man pull a small cellular phone from his jacket and flip open the screen. Things were about to get more frustrating. Perhaps by the end of this, he could succeed in winning his freedom as well as ending both Jeremy and Richard all at once. No one deserved to die more, but it was a toss up as to who was more deserving of the two men.


	16. Enemies and Oddities

Chapter 16: Enemies and Oddities

Ceridwen awoke on the floor of a small, dark room. She could hear strange humming sounds and soft pulsing thumps from somewhere outside the walls. She slowly sat up, feeling her head spin furiously. Ceridwen moaned and clutched her abdomen with the same pensive misery that she usually felt after an especially horrible transformation. Pain suddenly gripped her left side. She squinted, willing her night-vision to acclimate back into her present senses. As she looked down at her side, she could now clearly make out the sight of a large bandage. There was a large amount of blood still on it. She covered her mouth and forced away the need to wretch at the smell of her own fluid. With her vision now at its preternatural peak, she could see the outlay of the room. There was a mat under her, but no other furnishings whatsoever. There was a large door in front of her that must have been constructed by steel or some other strong metal. A small window covered by a plate of darkened glass was near the top of the door, far too high for her to see out of at the moment. Ceridwen tried to move her legs underneath her, then gather the strength to stand. She was not successful in either attempt. Panic began to wash over her as her mind centred, allowing the memories of what had recently occurred to come clear once more. She felt the natural strength that stems from desperation welling within her. She breathed deeply and tried again to stand. Just as she was able to move one leg under her, the door creaked open. Three large, dark figures entered; all males and all vampires. She groaned and shielded her eyes as one of them flipped a large switch on the wall causing enormous bright lights to glow overhead.

"Good morning, Miss Nistuart. Well, such as it is. How is your head feeling?" a man with a sweet, yet insincere voice asked as he knelt beside her. He softly touched her head and began examining her side and eyes. "It looks like you're making a speedy recovery. Is there anything that I can do to make your stay more comfortable?"

"Who are you?" she groaned. "Where am I? Where's Dwight? What happened?" Her questions began to sound more desperate and spoken more urgently in only a few seconds each. The man chuckled and placed a hand behind her shoulders, trying to lay her back cautiously. Ceridwen refused, pushing his hands away gently. "My head hurts so badly, so does my side. What is going on?"

"The injury you sustained, coupled with the blood that was taken from you, has caused a little bit of shock and physical stress. It will pass shortly." The man looked into her face deeply as she opened her eyes. "That a girl, you should be healthy enough in no time."

Ceridwen noted his usage of the word enough. She groaned and grasped her head more tightly.

"Enough for what?" she asked beginning to shake as she felt a terrible cold settle around her.

"A transfusion, of sorts," the man replied with a smile. Ceridwen looked up, her vision clearing completely as shock took her. His smile brightened as he realized that she recognized him directly. "I assume that you already know why we're here, Ceridwen."

"The link between the two is safe with me and my family. Only those who can use it to heal will know of it," she growled. Dyllis laughed coldly.

"You seem to think that I am going to ask you nicely a few times, shout, then throw things before giving up. Give me more credit for being imaginative, little girl. After all, I did come up with the solar-tank." Dyllis watched the grimace of pure disgust at the mention of such a thing cross the girl's face. The solar-tank was a device formulated for the slow execution of untreatable vampires. It was simply a plexi-glass box with places to restrain the victim on the floor of the contraption. The victim slowly burned to death while experiencing toxic radiation symptoms. It took hours for a victim to die, sometimes days depending on weather and how healthy the subject had been. Ceridwen had been forced to tend to one at one point in her training, the operatives that came to retrieve her found her protectively laying on the top of the box, weeping uncontrollably. Dyllis was sadistic. Ceridwen had pointed out once that he had been born in the wrong time and place; feeling that his talents would have fit Nazi Germany or Ancient Rome more splendidly. Dyllis hadn't argued. "The fact that you seemed so attached to that pathetic little worm is going to come in quite handy. I always knew you'd fall madly in love with your first assignment, we all did. I'm sure Dr. Gameliel is so relieved to see that it's a male."

Ceridwen moved forward, snarling. Dyllis quickly backhanded her across the face, sending her flying into the wall behind them. She coughed and rolled onto her abdomen, pushing herself to sitting upright. She panted heavily and looked up at him in anger and fear combined. A memory suddenly began to tingle in the back of her mind. The sensation began to burn painfully as she realized that this was a terror that did not belong to her, it was Dwight's fear. The man that stood before her, a man that she had loathed since she had smelled him, was the cause of Dwight's agony. He was responsible for every ounce of pain that the poor man felt. Ceridwen growled even louder, finding strength and courage in her anger that Dwight hadn't been able to grasp. Dyllis snarled and released his fangs. Ceridwen sat down carefully, knowing too well that she was outmatched for the moment. She needed to be patient, to have faith for a little while. If she was docile, then she would have more time to plan an escape. Dyllis chuckled softly.

"I will send someone in later to tend to you and make sure you recieve nourishment." Dyllis stood slowly and motioned for the other two to follow him out of the room. Ceridwen wasn't sure exactly what kind of disturbing method of torture he had in mind for her, but she was almost certain from his words that he was going to be using Dwight as a weapon. She frowned and sank to the floor, laying her chin in her hands as she sighed. There was always a way out, especially for a cat.

Jeremy and Dwight flew effortlessly through the darkened sky towards Richard's home. Richard lived in a decent apartment in upper New York, not a place Dwight was used to seeing. Jeremy hoped that by landing Dwight's plane on the airpad of a nearby abandoned hospital, they would be able to forgo any potential distractions. Jeremy climbed out of the plane and glared at Dwight for a moment. Dwight climbed out quickly and began to walk straight ahead. Jeremy reached out and snatched him by the arm.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa there Allastair Dark. Lose the cape," he instructed firmly. Dwight turned and growled. Jeremy glared back harshly and placed his hand over the taser. "Lose it."

Dwight reached up and unclasped the cape that hid his face from many victims. He walked back over to his plane and opened the door, tossing the wad of finery in it. As he turned and moved past Jeremy, the young man caught him by the arm again.

"That neck-tie-whatsit, lose it." Dwight snarled, allowing the tips of every sharpened tooth to glisten at the boy. Jeremy picked up the taser and flicked it onto a low setting. Dwight muttered as he carefully removed the silk cravat that marked his identity among any survivors. He growled as he moved past Jeremy once more. "Uh, uh, Count Serious. Lose the jacket."

"What in God's name for?!" Dwight demanded angrily.

"Because it looks like you were buried in it."

"That would be the general idea behind the ensemble, you twit." Dwight folded his arms angrily.

"Look, either you take off the jacket and the cute little vest there, or I turn you into my next home-made Christmas ornament," Jeremy said with a sideways smile. Dwight nearly roared at this, but grabbed either sleeve of the jacket and tore it from his shirt. He grabbed the vest that lay under the shirt at the shoulders and tore it madly from him. He looked at Jeremy with nothing short of pure loathing. "Wow, you've got the whole Hulk method of undressing down to an art."

"Shut up and lead the way. Ceridwen is probably being interrogated as we speak." Dwight began to walk calmly behind his companion as the two walked out towards an old, but rather large complex. This wasn't necessarily a bad part of town. In fact, it was quite nice by comparison. The hospital had been abandoned to make room for a new complex about to spring up. "Are you sure that my landing in the city was unnoticed? We had to dip quite low, and in this age of America, I'm sure low flying aircraft are noticed and unwelcomed. Especially in upper Manhattan for heaven's sake."

"No one's made a fuss yet, have they?" Jeremy said as they approached the door of the building. Jeremy reached for the handle. He grunted as he pulled up on the lever with all his might, only to find that the door would not budge at all. He groaned and slammed his fist into the door. "We have to get someone to buzz us in."

"Do you know the filth's apartment number?" Dwight said.

"Yeah, Thirteen-B." Jeremy watched a wicked smile cross the young vampire's face. He moved to the side as Dwight raced forward and punched into the seam of the metal door, wrapping his slightly human fingers around the twisted metal and yanking the rest away. Jeremy stumbled one step backwards as Dwight tore the door out of the facing and then breathed deeply, willing his humanity to return. "Whoa."

"Keep that in mind every time you threaten me, boy," Dwight warned as they entered the building. Jeremy pointed towards an elevator at the end of the hall. The two marched swiftly towards it and climbed in, pressing the location simultaneously. They glared at each other hatefully as the doors closed. "Is he still in that Godless profession of his?"

"Nope. Word is that he kind of went all wacky after you got ahold of him. Started editing for a greeting card company or something." Jeremy cleared his throat and stared straight ahead. He noticed Dwight looking at him in disgust and disbelief. "What? It's what I heard."

The elevator stopped at the thirteenth floor. As the doors opened, a man entered and moved towards the control panel. He pressed the button for the first floor after politely excusing himself several times in a meek voice. Dwight's expression changed to total amusement and anticipation. As the man stood in front of them, Dwight reached forward and placed a hand carefully on his shoulder. Jeremy knew what was about to transpire, but he was elated at the thought of someone else being on the recieving end of Dwight's wickedry.

"Dees," Dwight said in a deep, low, growl. The man froze as every hair and nerve on his body stood on end. Jeremy could swear he heard the man soil himself at the sound of Dwight's voice. He began to shudder as Dwight leaned closer to his ear. "Going down, are you?"

Richard reached over and began frantically hitting buttons. Jeremy reached forward and pressed the 'halt' button, then held both hands over the panel. Richard began to shout frantically and try to shove Jeremy out of the way.

"Oh man! It's you! You're that reformist wierdo I contacted! I knew you were going to let him come for me! In the back of my mind, I knew it!" Richard shouted as he took a step backwards. He backed into Dwight, who took hold of both of the man's arms.

"Then why bother turning me over?" Dwight chuckled. It felt absolutely marvelous to be terrifying someone like this once more. Richard simply stared at him in both horror and awe. This was Dwight, no question about it, but he looked different. His menacing cape, comical necktie, and fine black coat were missing. His face, hands, and hair all seemed quite human. The only thing that remained was the unnatural glow in his eyes. "We need your assistance, Dees."

"Forget it! Kill me first!" Richard yelled defensively as he hurried away from Dwight and began trying to pry Jeremy's hands off of the panel more furiously. Jeremy grunted and began forcing him away with his shoulder. Richard moved to the side and rammed the boy with his right shoulder. Jeremy cried out in pain, but stood his ground. Dwight roared and took Richard by the collar. He cowered, feeling his entire body go numb with fear. His mouth went dry as he began to chant softly. "Sunshine, and flowers, and kittens, and rainbows. Sunshine, and flowers, and kittens, and rainbows. Sunshine, and flowers, and kittens, and rainbows. Sunshine..."

"What on the face of the civilized world is that nonsense?!" Dwight exclaimed.

"My mantra. The relaxation therapist says it will keep my heart from exploding in the face of memories of the unspeakable horrors I've suffered," Richard explained as he began panting. He fished into his shirt pocket and hurriedly pulled out a small packet. He opened it quickly and fumbled with the contents until holding it properly in his hands. He breathed heavily as he slapped the adhesive patch to his forearm and leaned his back against the doors, steadying himself as he closed his eyes and breathed.

"Nicotene patch?" Jeremy asked.

"Nah. I had a friend from Pfizer formulate my valium into convenient patch form." Richard panted heavily and turned around. Both hands were firmly placed against the door with the palms gripping the surface desperately. "Better living through modern medicine."

"Yes, but it can only do so much and for so long," Dwight mused. Richard continued to face away from him. "I'll say it again, we need your assistance."

"Sunshine, and flowers, and kittens, and rainbows. Sunshine, and flowers, and kittens, and rainbows. Sunshine, and flowers, and kittens, and rainbows." The chant continued for another few minutes. Jeremy and Dwight turned to each other in frustration. Dwight sighed and squeezed his eyes closed for a moment. Jeremy narrowed his gaze, trying to decipher what it was that the young vampire was accomplishing. "Sunshine, and kittens, and flowers, and oh my GOD!"

Dwight opened his eyes as Richard grabbed either side of his head and began to pound his forehead into the door. Jeremy's eyes widened. He reached out and took a firm hold on Richard.

"Stop it! You're going to break something we still need to use!" he exclaimed.

"Destroy the short term memory! I've learned enough! God knows I've seen enough!" Richard shouted as he fought with Jeremy. "Get it out! Get it out of my brain! It burns, heavenly mercy, it burns!"

"What did you do to him?" Jeremy shouted back at Dwight. Dwight stood calmly in the corner, smiling contentedly.

"I gave him one of my memories," Dwight said calmly. Jeremy frowned.

"Which one?"

Dwight smiled brighter and began to fiddle with the ruffled cuffs on his sleeves. "Did Richard describe to you the little confrontation that he and I had in the Wilmington lavatory?"

"Yeah. What of it?"

"I let him see what he was missing in the mirror." Dwight smiled brightly as Jeremy retched, still holding onto Richard tightly.

"Oh man! That's brutal! You can't do that to another guy!" Jeremy chastised. Dwight snickered.

"I can always take it away, you know." He looked back down at his cuffs as Richard straightened up and stormed towards him. He took hold of the ruffled collar on the man and glared hatefully at him.

"Undo it, Now!" he demanded. Dwight chuckled once more, tilting his head back slightly and allowing one fang to protrude a fraction of a centimeter. "Take this out of my head, you pervert!"

"I already told you that we need your assistance, Dees. I can't have you with us if you're going to rabbitt on about a silly memory. However, I have no problem abandoning you with that entirely inappropriate and yet so crystal clear image," Dwight said as he pushed Richard away from him. Richard growled low, balling his fists together. He let out a yelp and the grabbed the sides of his head once more, breathing deeply. "Do we have an agreement?"

"Fine, fine, FINE!" Richard yelled as he leaned back into the doors yet again. He tried to breathe slowly and deliberately to undo at least part of this travesty. "I'll help, alright? But I'm not garuanteeing a class A performance."

"You rarely do," Dwight mused as he squinted in concentration. Richard breathed a sigh and felt the terrible image slip away. He panted desperately and leaned against the wall to the back of the control panel. Jeremy looked at Dwight with something that resembled gratitude. Still, there was neither warmth nor tenderness in the boy's gaze. "Now, let's get back. I'm quite sure that poor Ceridwen has already awakened to the hell she's been taken into."

"Yeah. Whose fault was that again?" Jeremy said sarcastically. Dwight growled at him and straightened himself as Jeremy let go of the panel and pressed the ground floor button.

"Where are we going?" Richard asked timidly. Dwight looked over at him in malicious joy. 

"The far north of Maine," he said quietly.

"Am I flying?" Richard said hopefully. Dwight looked towards him with temperate fury in his unnatural gaze.

"Hardly," Dwight muttered. He breathed deeply as the elevator settled onto the ground floor and the doors opened with a ring of a small bell. He frowned to himself as they walked out towards his plane. Certainly the link he had made between Ceridwen and himself would alert him if she were being harmed at all. He comforted himself with the knowledge that she was probably too weak from the blood she had lost to him for them to start anything on her. While this wasn't much of a comfort, as this was a constant reminder that he was responsible for her current situation, but it was better than anything else that would be close to truth that he could say to himself.


	17. Initial Descent Into The Belly of The

Chapter 17: Initial Descent into the Belly of the Beast

The three left the building quickly and headed swiftly towards the landing pad. Jeremy had found that the area of the city that Richard lived in had few tall buildings, plenty of open space for landing or takeoff, and of course the abandoned hospital. Unfortunately, what Jeremy hadn't counted on was being noticed as they skimmed over the skyline and landed cautiously near the hospital. Their flight had not, as fate would have it, been unnoticed. As the three looked straight ahead towards the plane, Dwight put his arms out to either side and prevented both Jeremy and Richard from moving any further. The two noticed almost instantly what had Dwight's attention. Richard cursed softly. Both Jeremy and Dwight glared at him for a moment. All three turned back to the plane and the horde of police and FAA officers that surrounded it.

"Got any suggestions out of this one, Renfield?" Jeremy asked in agitation.

"Keep going, I'll think of something," Dwight grumbled and started towards the plane once more.

"Forgive me for seeming ignorant, but shouldn't we have a plan in mind before we try and tangle with any authority figures that might possibly put us away for life?" Richard muttered. Dwight froze and turned in an angry glare towards the man. Jeremy leaned past Dwight to do the same. "Alright for life, life, and eternal life. Still, I really don't think it's wise for any of us, especially those of us who are already on the edge as far as being conspicuous," Richard glared back at the two angrily, "...to make any kind of bold moves against _that_."

"I have yet to be caught by the authorities for the asenine misdemeanors against private citizens I took to being my hobby as a boy." Richard stared at Dwight in confusion. Jeremy rolled his eyes and stared deeply at the situation in front of them. "Furthermore, I still have yet to be caught for the numerous homicides in at least five states."

"That's not bragging material," Jeremy corrected as he darted behind a dumpster. Richard did the same as he noticed that a group of officers were beginning to scan the area. "Alright, I say we dash out really quickly, beat anyone that gets in the way, get in the plane, and floor it out of here."

"You don't think that the authorities would follow us?" Richard reasoned as he knelt facing Jeremy.

"We don't have time to worry about that," Jeremy said as he peeked out from behind the dumpster at the now swarming group of officers. "If they follow us, we can always ask Dwight to use somekind of fancy aviation maneuver to ditch them. Does that sound good, Dracula?"

The two turned and suddenly noticed that Dwight wasn't near the dumpster at all. Dwight hadn't ducked alongside them when the had hidden, he had simply moved past several of the officers and towards Lenore. A look of sheer determination was emblazoned on the confident aged pilot's face. Jeremy and Richard watched in complete shock and horror as Dwight strode past every officer near his plane.

"Oh, man. He's going to get himself destroyed and land the two of us in the permanent servitude of a guy named Daisy," Jeremy muttered. "Why do I always find myself in these situations?"

"Your job is centered around the supernatural, your sister's an animal, and from what I understand, your mom was a ..." Richard began.

"That's not what I meant!" Jeremy whispered in protest. Richard shrugged and then turned back towards the sight of the vampire casually approaching his aircraft. "We should probably jump out and distract someone."

Neither said anything else as shock left them completely dumbfounded. Dwight sauntered past every officer, every authority figure, every member of personel present. In fact, it seemed that Dwight was moving among them completely unnoticed. Jeremy's breath caught in his throat. Richard felt a warm calm settling over him as the effects of the patch became full. He smiled and chuckled softly.

"He looks so happy, doesn't he?" Richard said with a soft sigh of admiration. Jeremy slowly faced him, staring at him as if he were the only one among them with a serious issue to face in the next few moments. Richard smiled more brightly. "He gets to do what he loves, it's wonderful."

"Hey, Richard, do you have anymore of those patches?"

"Sure," Richard replied with a friendly tap on Jeremy's injured shoulder. Jeremy grunted in pain and glared at him.

"Let me have them," Jeremy demanded as he held out his hand.

"That's against federal regulations, tiger." Richard turned back towards the scene ahead of them. "Oh, look! Dwight's made it to the plane! I bet that he is connected to it on a spiritual level, wouldn't you say?"

Jeremy gave no reply as he watched Dwight climb into the plane and close the door smoothly. Why on earth hadn't anyone noticed him? How could someone not notice a tall, dark, sinister figure moving towards them and then climbing into the very object they were investigating? Jeremy shook his head. It must have been somekind of power that vampires had that he wasn't aware of, but Ceridwen could explain in a few complicated sentences. He sighed heavily. He had never really been seperated from Ceridwen for more than a few hours at a time. Although they were adopted siblings, it seemed to anyone watching them that they were inseperable since birth. The rumble of the engine startled all the officers in the area into pulling their weaponry and shouting at one another. Jeremy felt a rumble in the back of his throat as a growl escaped. Dwight was getting away with their only means of transportation and had most certainly planned to have the authorities here to take him and Richard into custody so that Dwight, himself, would be home free. How dare he! Jeremy stood up furiously and came face to face with a SWAT officer.

"Freeze! Hands in the air!" the officer yelled. Jeremy gave a small and startled jump as he raised his hands over his head. Richard stood slowly and looked towards the man. "You, too! Hands up!"

"Why? Is something wrong?" Richard asked in drug-induced sincerity. Before the officer could ask a second time, Jeremy heard the roar of the engine come at an extremely close range. He looked behind the officer and watched as the plane taxied towards them. He frowned and prepared to throw something at the windshield. "Wow! He's getting really close!"

"Come on!" Jeremy yelled as he turned and punched the officer in the face. The man flew backwards, landing with a loud crash into a pile of old garbage. Jeremy cried out in terrible pain as he realized that he had absoloutely no experience in punching another man in the face. He grunted and breathed deeply for a moment. He looked back up at Richard as the air began to churn madly with the plane's propellers. Dwight was definitely moving close enough for them to board. Jeremy reached out and grabbed Richard by the arm with his pulsing, but still less bludgeoned limb. He dragged the aloof ex-reporter towards the plane and banged harshly on the door. "Dwight! Hurry up!"

The door flew open. Dwight smiled wickedly at both of them.

"I said I would think of something," Dwight mused as the two climbed in.

"Take off before they start after us!" Jeremy shouted. Dwight thrust forward on the throttle as soon as the door was completely shut. Unfortunately, the force of it sent both Jeremy and Richard tumbling straight to the back of the hold. "Ow!"

"Hold on! We're about to gain altitude like nothing else!" Dwight instructed. Richard laughed happily as Jeremy struggled to maneuver both of them into a comfortable position. "Ready?"

"Just go!" Jeremy shrieked. Dwight smiled, turning back to the windshield and pushing the throttle forward as far as he could go in a smooth grip. The tiny plane shot awkwardly into the sky at an unusual angle. Jeremy felt his stomach twist madly as the atmosphere beneath them suddenly became laced with turbulence. He closed his eyes and prayed quietly that the plane would not only stay aloft, but also stay ahead of everyone else that now knew exactly where they had been. He wasn't even entirely sure whether or not the authorities had placed a homing device on the plane itself. He breathed deeply and focused on the more important factor at the moment, they were not far at all from getting Ceridwen back. Dwight breathed deeply and felt fire burning in his veins beginning in his stomach; he needed to be fed, and soon. A soft and uncontrollable growl escaped the vampire's lips. Richard shuddered as the medicine began to wear down and the sound of Dwight's anger registered fully to him. He had heard the sound of Dwight snarling and breathing deeply before, and the end result was far from pleasant. He was still quite angry with Dwight as well as afraid. After all of the law dodging that Richard had done over the years, it was the confrontation with Dwight (in the which he was completely innocent and had, in fact, wanted to help the people in the airport) that had landed Richard in prison for several days. After a short ordeal, he was cleared of all charges and sent to a psychiatric facility for three days to observe his now very strange behaviour. Richard had experienced insomnia, night terrors, slight paranoia, and tremors in lieu of the attack. It was incredibly unfair that the one time in his life that Richard was innocent, he ended up traumatized and incarcerated.

Jeremy moved towards the pilot's seat. He had learned from Ceridwen how to sense certain amounts of suffering in other beings. Dwight seemed to be near starving, but he was controlling himself well. Jeremy wasn't quite sure whether or not this was due to Dwight wanting to get the ordeal with Ceridwen out of the way so that he could flee, or becuase he was truly feeling a change within himself. He frowned at the thought that he might have been cruel to someone that was really trying to live a normal life. It wouldn't have been the first time, but it would be the first time he would be directly connected to the person in question. He sighed and leaned down near Dwight.

"How far are we?" he asked.

"Not far. It's a good thing I fully refueled before we left Bangor in the first place," Dwight said softly as he kept his eyes affixed on the sky ahead.

"How are you holding up?" Jeremy continued as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head. Dwight glanced over at him in skeptical confusion. "I noticed that you had a wound on you when you came back. You know, before you put a new shirt on and everything."

"My sire placed the basics of the information surrounding his plans for Ceridwen in me by biting me, it's how we transfer information quickly." Dwight reached forward and tapped one of the dials pensively. Jeremy looked from side to side for a moment.

"So how did you do that thing you did to Richard?" he asked quietly.

Dwight chuckled softly. "I bit him once when he was sleeping before we had that confrontation in Wilmington."

"How did you do that without leaving those insanely large bite marks on him?"

"I only used the very tip of one fang. The fool was so inebrieated that he didn't notice." Dwight laughed a little louder and glanced back at Richard for a brief second. "He probably won't know about it for years unless you tell him."

"That's not something I'd like to bring up in casual conversation with him. In fact, I'm not sure I'd like to have a casual conversation with him at all. He's kind of creepy." Jeremy shuddered as he looked back towards the windshield. Dwight laughed and shook his head.

"That's adorable coming from the adopted brother of catwoman." Dwight looked out the left window as Jeremy glared hatefully at him.

"You know, we're going to have to get along for a few hours in order to get anything accomplished," Jeremy corrected. Dwight growled a little more loudly. His hunger was growing by the second. Jeremy looked down and noted the intensity rising in Dwight's green eyes. When transmorphing or preparing to do so, Dwight's eyes began to glow brown. Ceridwen had insisted that this was because brown was better for night vision and was the typical colour for the animal that shared his viral DNA. Ceridwen had never revealed the theory she had for the link between vampires and lycans to anyone except her sister and her sister's gaurdian. Ceridwen and Lucille rarely saw one another since they had been seperated, but the man that took care of Lucille tried to bring them together at least once every two years. Lucille had attended the bureau's academy in Europe and had become a research and ground operative for foreign fields. Lucille was often busy on assignments in distant parts of the world while Ceridwen was fine tuning her reform skills. Lucille's field called for retrieving subjects or making way for other operatives to dispose of them and therefore took substantially less training than Ceridwen's field which required extended direct contact with subjects. Jeremy had only met Lucille twice, but he had decided to accept her as family just like Ceridwen. He looked down at Dwight, remembering how excited and adamant Cerdiwen had been about taking care of the little mutant. He sighed and leaned forward, speaking more quietly. "Since all of us are going to have to work together, all of us need to be at our best. If you need... you know... well... I mean..."

Dwight turned and stared at Jeremy in bewilderment. "What are you going on about, now?"

Jeremy leaned much closer and whispered as best he could above the engine. "If you need something to, you know, drink; you can take from me."

Dwight turned quickly and looked up at the youth in total shock. Jeremy hated him, didn't he? Why would he offer to contribute something like his own blood just to make Dwight a little more comfortable? Dwight suddenly realized that it wasn't Jeremy's concern for Dwight's health that inspired the offer, it was his concern for Ceridwen. If Dwight was unable to function properly, then they could kiss any chance of saving Ceridwen goodbye. Dwight was the only one of them that knew his way to the facility and how best to attack the enemy they were facing. He thought for a moment more, his eyes darting to and fro. If he bit Jeremy at all, then the boy would have a small part of that knowledge as well and he would have some part of Jeremy's knowledge. Jeremy knew quite a bit about the truth of the bureau and would not be able to protect it as Ceridwen had been earlier, not to mention the fact that he would have a greater insight into Ceridwen herself. Dwight smiled, the pointed tips of his vampiric teeth protruding instinctively over his lips. He turned his head towards Jeremy.

"When we land, I will need a little something to make sure I don't have another 'fit' as your sister calls it. I haven't eaten for nearly a day added to the fact that my sire took blood from me when he took Ceridwen." Dwight turned back towards the horizon, feeling his heart begin to race with anticipation as they drew near to the warehouse. They couldn't land too close to the building. Dilbert would know the smell and sound of the plane as well as be able to sense Dwight's presence. He looked towards the ground out of the window to his left once again, this time readying to land. He tilted the wing and began to allow the plane to make a wide and cautious circle. A question began to nag at the back of Dwight's mind. He glanced at Jeremy for a moment and sighed. "Will Ceridwen have a part of my virus in her now that I've bitten her?"

"Nah, not at all. Her viral strand is very powerful. Felines are resistant to things like that. Besides, Ceridwen says that the vampiric virus needs to touch blood itself and that it lives in the blood. You would have had to put a measure of your blood in hers in order to do that." Jeremy noticed the plane beginning to circle slowly. He smiled and inhaled sharply. They were getting ready to land. "Your sire probably slit some part of his hand when attacking you. You didn't transmit the virus to Richard when you bit him, but you did give him some of your genetic material, which can be transferred more clearly and efficiently since your DNA is more flexible than a human's. That reminds me, you had better not transfer _that_ memory to me, or I'll give you a certain few memories that I'm more than sure you will loathe."

"Agreed," Dwight chuckled. He turned his head towards Richard who was huddled and appeared to be trying to nap at the very back of the hold. "Beginning initial descent. Prepare for landing and assume crash position."

"Are you planning on crashing?" Jeremy said in confusion.

"Of course not, but neither of you are buckled in. Hold onto something and protect your vitals." Dwight began moving the landing gear into position. Jeremy nodded and moved to the back of the plane, curling into a near fetal position next to Richard. As soon as he was sure that they were ready to land, Dwight pulled back carefully on the throttle. A surge of power and the satisfaction that it brought pulsed through him at the feel of the engine responding so wonderfully to his every touch. Dwight had been taught to think of the controls as equal to a lovely young girl, responsive to even the slightest pressure or move of the hand. The hunger within him, the power rush, and the excitement at the thought of retrieving Ceridwen made that analogy seem very distracting. He shook his head and concentrated on the task at hand rather than lessons he had recieved in the past. "Here we go."

The tiny craft gently slid through the air towards the ground, finally coming to a stop in the middle of the same open land that he had given him space to make the emergency landing with Ceridwen. His eyes affixed firmly on his target ahead, the small patch of ground that he had pinpointed as the best place to rest the body of the plane. Jeremy breathed a sigh of relief as the engine began to die down. Richard unfolded himself, stretching awake slightly. Dwight looked back at his two companions and nodded to Jeremy. The young man looked at Richard.

"Stay here for a minute, alright?" he said as he moved towards the door.

"I could stay here longer than that if you need," Richard offered with desperate hope. Jeremy turned and glared at him. The former journalist sighed and reached into his pocket for another patch of valium. Jeremy shook his head. Dwight climbed out of the plane, not bothering to bring his cape with him. He almost felt liberated without it now. He turned and waited for Jeremy to exit. The young man climbed out behind him and closed the door carefully. He looked at Dwight with a small measure of apprehension. Dwight noticed the relative of fear in the youth's eyes.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked cautiously.

"Of course. There's no other way you're going to be able to function properly if you don't get something in your system." Jeremy cleared his throat and used his teeth to roll up the sleeve on his good arm. "Just, do it quickly, alright? I don't usually have a high tolerance for pain."

Dwight nodded, surprised at the young man's confession. He reached down and took hold of Jeremy's arm, extending one of his claws. A fang would be too large and awkward to use on Jeremy's wrist, even for as thick as the well-built boy's limbs were. He carefully made an incision over one of the larger veins in the wrist. Jeremy grunted, feeling a burn alongside the pain as his blood began to course from the open wound. Dwight smiled and pulled Jeremy's wrist to his mouth, drinking deeply. He couldn't take too much from the youth, but he could satiate most of his need within just a few moments. Jeremy inhaled sharply as the pain intensified. Dwight closed his eyes and focused his energy into Jeremy, willing the boy to be calm and for the pain to cease. Jeremy felt a soft tingling in the back of his head then trickle down his spine. He shuddered for a second as Dwight pulled his face away from Jeremy's wrist. He clasped his hand over the wound and held it firmly. With both the presence of Dwight's thick saliva and the pressure of holding the edges of the wound together, the wound should be well enough to handle in the fight that was sure to ensue in the warehouse.

"Thanks," Jeremy said softly. Dwight lifted the corner of his mouth and gave a quick nod.

"That was unexpectedly selfless of you, Jeremiah." Dwight turned back towards the plane and willed Jeremy to see a part of what Dilbert had shown him earlier. He moved to the door of the plane and opened it as Jeremy stood, thinking about the information racing through his mind. "Come along, Dees."

The door opened a little, with Richard peeking out at the two. "Are you sure? I'm not bored or anything, I could wait a little longer."

"That won't be necessary, Dees," Dwight said pleasantly as he took Richard by the collar. "I wouldn't want you to miss out on all the excitement."

"Let's hurry," Jeremy interjected urgently. Dwight turned towards him. Jeremy had a look of incredible fear and slight sadness in his eyes. "Ceridwen's not going to be safe for much longer."

Dwight nodded to him, understanding that the boy had obviously pieced together some part of Dilbert's plan with the knowledge that he himself had about the situation surrounding both Ceridwen and Dilbert. Dwight began to lead the way towards the warehouse. He wondered if Dilbert's senses would be keen enough to smell Dwight from within the metal covered brick walls of the building. He looked back at the other two, making sure they were close enough to follow in the dark. He noticed that a tear had fully formed in one of Jeremy's eyes. He gazed deeply at the youth. Dwight had no time to try and work through the information Jeremy had given him and compute what it was that Jeremy was worked up over.

"Jeremiah, why is it so much more urgent now? Can you tell that her blood is clear from this distance?" he asked quietly.

"Dyllis Drakeman is the one holding her prisoner. I hadn't realized that he had such a foul reputation before he began working for the bureau, but it seems that he's been hard at work since the first world war." Jeremy breathed deeply and cleared his throat. "I believe you knew him as Dilbert Lindman, but everyone at the bureau knows him as the most sadistic vampiric exterminator in history."

"Really?" Richard asked. "A vampire is helping that organization of yours destroy other vampires?"

"Anyone that won't cooperate with his plans. Dad, Ceridwen, and I have been trying to get people to see that for years." Jeremy looked to the side for a moment, sniffling. Dwight decided that it was best not to draw attention to the apparent emotional display that the boy was giving, but he was curious about something. Every operative in the bureau seemed to be working at their respective causes because of somekind of personal tradgedy.

"I take it that he exterminated someone that meant something to you?" Dwight asked cautiously. Jeremy grunted again and looked to the other side, clenching his fists for a second. "Who was it that he destroyed?"

"My mom," Jeremy whispered. Richard turned towards him in awe. Jeremy shook his head and sped up, moving past the two. Dwight frowned and hurried after the young man. He knew too well that emotional fits in men of any age often led to rash behaviour and regret. That was the last thing any of them needed at the moment. In a way, Dwight felt some measure of relief and comfort at thinking he wasn't the only one spiritually wounded by the fiend. In another sense, Dwight felt only further rage at knowing Dilbert's evil had continued becuase he hadn't been brave enough to destroy him when he had realized what exactly the man was. That wasn't going to happen again. Dwight had every intention of wiping every trace of Dilbert from the face of the planet.


	18. The Cavalry Arrives

Chapter 18: The Cavalry Arrives

Ceridwen had reamined as calm as possible in waiting for Dyllis's next henchman to come into the room and see to her. All she had to do was stay perfectly still, perhaps even slow her breathing for several moments. Then, when the underling went to examine her to see if she was still breathing, she could render him defenseless and at least make it out of the room. From the outside, she could easily assess where she was and how best to escape. She sighed heavily and layed down to one side, concentrating on maintaining the slowest possible heartbeat. The door opened slowly a few moments later. Ceridwen continued to focus intently on the steady rythm of her own breathing as the operative knelt beside her. Ceridwen suddenly realized that she sensed two people in the room, one of them a lycan like herself. She felt her heart begin to race instinctively at the smell of a rival. The two reached down and carefully took Ceridwen into their arms, carrying her out of the room. Ceridwen wondered whether or not she should try and fight away from them now.

"Has anyone heard anything about that vampire that brought her?" someone near her asked.

"No. I'm guessing that they've got him fairly well subdued until the sun rises. Hopefully Dyllis will be able to create that seerum from his remains." another added.

Ceridwen's eyes snapped open. She growled furiously and and threw her weight to the left, hurling herself out of her captors' arms. Ceridwen hadn't heard much of what they had said outside the door, understandably so. The two men carrying her were apparently waiting for her to attack them. They moved quickly, taking a harsher hold on her and calling for Dyllis. The older vampire approached the three casually and smiled brightly at Ceridwen.

"Back to full capacity, I see," he mused happily. Ceridwen growled at him, bearing her feline teeth angrily. Her heightened senses and hormones made it easy to transform, but still at a manageable level. It was usually at this time of month, that Ceridwen tried to study what exactly happened to her body when she transmorphed without losing complete control. She had learned alot from her observations, but still had no idea how to handle herself when fully transforming under the full moon. Dyllis walked over to her and cupped her chin in his hand. "Can't transform completely at this point, can you? I had wondered about that for the past few hours. That's magnificent, we should move ahead with plans if you're not going to be totally animalistic."

"You monster," Ceridwen said in a guttural growl. Dyllis chuckled and turned away, motioning for the men holding onto her to follow him. As they walked down a long, and darkened, hallway; a battered young man approached Dyllis. He was panting heavily and leaning in an akward manner. Dyllis frowned and glared at him.

"What are you doing? Where is he?" Dyllis demanded. The young vampire, who was supposed to have been the second captor watching the demise of Dwight, simply knelt and breathed more deeply. "Well?!"

"We've had a little accident," the man coughed.

"What kind of accident?" Dyllis snarled.

"He's escaped," the man squeaked and leaned forward, steadying himself on his hands. Dyllis growled angrily and reached forward, siezing the man by the collar.

"What did you say?!" he shouted.

"It was a mistake!" the young vampire choked as he clawed at Dyllis's arm.

"It was a _fatal _mistake!" Dyllis hissed as he squeezed tighter. The young man cried out and gasped as Dyllis's clawed hand closed completely around his throat and began to wrench his head from his neck. Dyllis growled, allowing himself to transform a little. As his form became close to what Ceridwen had seen of Dwight's, he flung the youth's body to the right, snapping off his head. The head plopped onto the floor. Dyllis turned away for a moment, inhaled calmly, and let his form shift back to as human as he ever appeared. He turned back to the others and smiled wickedly. To Ceridwen's surprise, the men holding her did not wince or cry out at the sight of one of their own being slaughtered so mercilessly. They nodded to their commander and moved towards him. Dyllis moved further down the hallway towards another large, metal door. Ceridwen's heart began to race furiously. She struggled madly with her captives, hissing and snarling with inhuman frustration. Ceridwen felt her ears ring and blood course painfully fast through every nerve within her as they entered the room. She gasped for a moment, a scream held silent in her throat as they closed the door behind them.

The plane shrank into the darkness and the distance. Dwight looked up at the sky and frowned. The sky was beginning to grow somewhat purple as the sun was beginning to make its way back into the heavens. He mumbled to himself and turned back towards the plane. Jeremy stopped dead and raced after him.

"What is it, what's wrong?" he asked urgently. Dwight said nothing and continued moving back towards the safety of Lenore. "Hey! Bozo, Ceridwen's this way," Jeremy said as he grabbed Dwight's arm. Dwight turned to face him angrily.

"The sun is rising. Can't you see that?" Dwight snarled. He felt his own heartbeat begin to rise at the thought of enduring the sun's rays ever again. "We'll wait until nightfall. They won't do anything to her until three days from now, remember?"

"How do you know he was telling the truth about that? He is evil, you know," Jeremy reasoned. Dwight groaned in frustration as he made it back to the plane. "You're really just going to hide? We can make it to the warehouse! We can find Ceridwen and then find a place to hide," he offered. Dwight whirled around to face Jeremy.

"Oh there's an idea. Let's wonder into the stronghold of the enemy, group together, and then put ourselves in the most vulnerable state possible while they start looking desperately for her everywhere." Dwight looked deeply into Jeremy's eyes. "We are not going to be able to fight our way away from them, there were too many of them for just me when the small group came for Ceridwen. I have seen into his mind there are many more than just the group that retrieved her."

"So what? You're a vampire, you have superhuman strength. I know I can take out several people and Ceridwen could also help in our effort to destroy all of them," Jeremy said with a shrug.

"Not likely. The sun will pose a problem. The warehouse may not have many windows, but the few it has will be quite large. It only stands to reason that the werecreatures present that serve Dilbert will use that as a significant weapon," Dwight countered.

"What's the big deal? So you have a little sunburn while you run for cover. Stop being such a coward." As Jeremy finished the sentence, Dwight roared and took hold of Jeremy by his shoulders, turning them and slamming the boy into the door of the plane. Jeremy gasped and stared back at Dwight in shock.

"Did Ceridwen not explain to you what happens when sunlight touches our skin?" Dwight growled softly. Jeremy stammered for a moment as Dwight leaned closer to him. "It is nothing like a mere sunburn. The moment the smallest ray of sunlight grazes the surface of my skin, every nerve ending in my body alights with hellish torment. I burn outside and freeze within. Alongside the conflict is an overwhelming illness in my stomach and a clangour in my head that would drown out even the roar of a coal-powered locomotive. My sight warps and disappears into nothing but the burning brightness of the wretched sun and my hearing is of no use. I am completely, and I repeat, completely helpless and in misery. No twisted and sadistic scheme ever concocted on the face of the earth by the heart of a godless man, could compare to the torture endured under sunlight. I am in no state or spirit to try and face that kind of ordeal. Now I ask you, Jeremiah, is that cowardice?"

"Not when you say it like that," Jeremy muttered as he looked to the side. Dwight roared once more, allowing his fangs to surface. "Alright! So we won't go out right now! We can't have you rolling on the ground screaming and burning."

"At last, an intelligent thought of yours escapes its vaccuous prison," Dwight grumbled as he climbed into the plane. Jeremy sighed and shook his head. He turned back to Richard, who had been watching the whole thing glad that Dwight was not focused on harming anyone but Jeremy for the time being. Jeremy frowned at him.

"Come on. We need to wait until the sun goes down," Jeremy instructed. Richard shook his head. "What?"

"You guys wait. I've seen this area before and I'm going to go and take a peek at what we're going after," he said as he turned back away from the plane. Jeremy grunted in frustration.

"If you're not back in an hour, I'm coming after you," he warned.

"Ninety-minutes, I swear!" Richard shouted back. Jeremy shook his head and climbed into the plane beside Dwight. Dwight had moved to the back of the plane and sat leaning against the cool interior. He looked towards Jeremy who sighed and pulled out the shields that Ceridwen had asked be placed on board under the pilot's seat. The shields were large solar-reflective panels that could fold for easy storage. Pilot's sometimes used things like these as blinders when teaching a student to fly at night, she had told him. Jeremy placed them over the windshield and windows, careful to cover every possible location for sunlight to enter.

Dwight looked over at the young man as he sat down on the opposite side of the plane and layed his head back.

"Your mother was a vampire," Dwight remarked. Jeremy gave a half smile and looked away.

"No, she was an angel. She was just infected with the virus. You see, the cures for it have developed more and more over the years. Still, in vamps it has to be given within twenty-four hours of the infection and with lycans it has to be given within seventy-two hours of infection depending on the current state of the moon and atmospheric pressure," Jeremy explained. "Mom and dad were study-buddies at the academy, high school sweethearts if you will. Anyway, they married as they began working in the field. Dad studied lycans and mom studied vampires. She was good, nearly the best. She started the notion of reforming any vampire the moment they were caught, no matter what. That way, everyone got the American ideal of innocent until proven guilty, with the second chance at persuing their happiness. She was on fire like all the time. Ceri and her got along great when she was still alive."

"How long after Ceridwen came to live with you did she pass away?" Dwight asked.

"Four years. Mom was bitten shortly before Ceridwen came to live with us. They administered one of the first formulas they ever had in the way of a cure. It's improved since then, mind you. Back then, you had a fifty-fifty chance of it being a successful method of putting the virus into permanent remission, or of it activating it on a grand scale. Mom's was successful." Jeremy's face clouded and a twinge of anger laced with sorrow caught his expression. "Four years later, mom went after a vampire in southwestern Columbia. He had been massacering groups of tourists and so on. There really was no hope for him. Mom still wanted to make sure for herself that he wasn't salvageable. It goes without saying that he had few places to run in that area. When the authorities cornered him, he was near starving and had been hurt by the sun a couple of times. He just layed there looking all defenseless. Mom knelt down to the floor and moved him towards her so that she could begin to administer something to sedate him. He turned on her, reached up and just bit into her arm as hard as he could. The operatives there said that there wasn't an inch on her shirt that wasn't covered in blood. When they brought her back, his bite had already begun to reactivate the virus in a big way. She didn't even have the same eyes. Dad said it was like looking at a bizzare doll with mom's face. Her eyes _were_ still human, though; she was still in there somewhere. Dad, Ceridwen, and I tried our best to convince the board in charge of the extreme cases that she hadn't been taken by this evil and that with her own plans for reformation she could be saved. Dyllis had need of a great many bodies to complete the experiments that he assured them would make the world around them safer for their children. They didn't care that mom could come back with a little effort on their part, they wanted a better way to kill something. They handed her over to him and let him use her to design a fool-proof device that could hold a vampire immoble and use the natural power of the sun to kill them permanently. Special tainted glass would destroy the DNA in a vampire's remains and make them unable to regenerate ever again. He was right. Mom came never came back."

Dwight stared at Jeremy with true empathy and sadness. "I'm so sorry, Jeremiah."

"I guess mom wouldn't have liked to hear me say that I hate vampires. She believed like Ceridwen does, that everyone deserves to live. I wonder what she would have thought of you." Jeremy growled and reached up, wiping a few tears away. He turned his gaze angrily to Dwight. "She never wised up to what they were before it was too late. I really don't believe anyone can turn around completely, they always turn back."

"This is assuming that you are perfect and never have any slip-ups of your own?" Dwight asked sarcastically. Jeremy glared at him. "Everyone, human or otherwise has the option of being evil, Jeremiah. But I think that people like your mother and Ceridwen prefer to see that everyone has the option of being good. It makes the world a little brighter for them and life worth living, perhaps."

"It's an illusion, nothing else," Jeremy corrected. "Mankind has a natural evil in it, everyone knows that."

Dwight smiled. "Yes, but they choose to see past it if they are going to thrive on earth while remembering Newton's Third Law."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Jeremy groaned.

"It states that everything has an equal opposite to it, a reciprocal. That tells humanity that for as many horribly cruel heels they encounter, the will encounter an equal number of women like your mother. That for as many worthless and terrible days as their are on their biological calender, there will be that many more filled with utter joy. I think that was more the basis of her work and Ceridwen's rather than just a bleeding heart that sees everyone as a simpering stray, a rational view on the fact that for as many total failiures they would have, they would save that many lives. Isn't that something worth accomplishing?" Dwight said with a smile.

"You're awfully philosophical for someone who's murdered hordes of people, don't you think?" Jeremy said viciously. "Not to mention that just a few hours ago you were flying off with my sister, ready to end her and give her body over to a group of people that you didn't even want to associate with."

Dwight raised the corner of his mouth in a slight smile. "Good," he said softly as he turned away to sleep. Jeremy glared at him in confusion. "You still refer to them as people. Good day, Jeremiah."

"Whatever," Jeremy muttered as he rolled over and closed his eyes.

Richard watched the sun rise fully as he walked towards the warehouse. He had found the cement pathway that led to it not long after deciding to go on without Dwight and Jeremy. He smiled as the warehouse came into view. It seemed very quiet, abandoned if he hadn't heard rumors of the opposite being true. He approached it carefully, gazing carefully at the parking lot and small airstrip near the building. This was a place that held grain products shipped all over the United States many years ago. He walked over to a stairway adjacent to the back of the parking lot and headed up towards the door. He walked up slowly and quietly as a cold breeze whipped past him. October in Maine was already feeling a New York winter. He shuddered and rubbed his hands together furiously as he reached the landing. He took hold of the door handle and gave it a strong turn, just in case. To his surprise, the door opened without so much as an eery creak. He peered inside. It was terribly dark. He squinted a little and moved inside. As his body entered the building fully, a strong blow landed on the back of his head. The vampire that had been holding the small length of piping frowned as he looked at his partner.

"Dyllis said that he would probably try and come for her," the other said with a shrug.

"Yeah, but this isn't him. You think he sent someone else to try and get her since the sun is up?" the one with the pipe asked.

"I don't know. We'd better take him to Dyllis and find out."

"Right. You take him, I'll get the door," the first offered. The other heaved Richard over his shoulder. The two vampires headed back down the hallway away from the closed door. Elsewhere in the building, Ceridwen howled madly.


	19. Vampires, Lycans, and Fools

Chapter 19: Vampires, Lycans, and Fools

Dwight hadn't really cared much that Richard wasn't with them as they went to sleep in the plane. He had heard clearly what the man intended to do, and hoped that Richard's new found terror of the supernatural would keep him from doing anything too stupid. He slipped into a dream quickly. He found himself sitting back in the schoolroom once more, but Ceridwen was no where in sight. He turned to the rest of the class. They were hard at work with a written assignment with the professor sitting at his desk, calmly reading. Dwight frowned. He leaned over to the student nearest him.

"Where's Ceridwen?" he asked softly.

"Not here," the teenage boy replied flatly. Dwight frowned more, furrowing his brow into a firm scowl.

"Then where is she?" he demanded a little louder. The boy looked up in irritation.

"She's sick or something, I don't know."

Dwight growled and turned back around. He came face to face with the professor. Dwight cried out in surprise, but steadied himself immediately. The professor continued to stare at Dwight for a moment, then moved his face away.

"Mister Wrenn, come with me," the man instructed. Dwight swallowed hard and stood. Even though in waking hours he was a tremendously powerful being whose very exsistance superceeded natural humans', in the dream setting he was still a schoolboy terriffied of angering the teachers and principals in authority. He breathed deeply and followed the man out of the room and down the hall a few paces. The man opened the door to a small office and walked in the door behind him. Dwight jumped slightly as the door shut behind them. They walked casually and silently over to a desk at the end of the windowless room and sat down. Dwight hesitated. "Have a seat." The professor motioned to a chair in front of the desk. Dwight moved towards it and sat down cautiously. "Mister Wrenn, why are you here?"

"I don't know, sir. You called me back here," Dwight said.

"Not here, I meant where your corporial form remains." The man stared commandingly at the dream form of the vampire. Dwight shifted, staring back at the man in confusion. He sighed heavily. "Why are you going after Ceridwen?"

Dwight thought for a moment. He hadn't really thought of the reason behind needing to get her back. As a matter of fact, he didn't really feel concern for her well being at all. If the truth be known, he was still quite angry with her and her colleagues for capturing him and holding him prisoner. He looked back at the professor blankly. "I don't know," he replied. The man frowned and folded his hands, setting them gently on the desk.

"Do you want to kill her?"

"No!" he shouted defensively as he stood and glared at the man. The professor said nothing, but instead raised one brow questioningly at the youth. Dwight stopped for a moment and thought for a moment more. He really didn't want to kill Ceridwen. In fact, as ravenous as he had felt before taking from Jeremy, he hadn't felt the burning desire to slaughter anything as he had in years past. He looked to either side, still trying to make sense of this. He remembered coming back to himself as a human after killing and soothing himself with the notion that he only killed out of necessity, that he was a normal part of the food web, and that he was not himself while he was acting out the murders. He had come to think a little differently about everything over the past couple of days. In the back of his mind he had always been ashamed of what he was and had even gone as far as killing anyone that had seen his vampiric form whether he was famished or not. He wanted desperately to see what it was that people saw when he transmorphed, but every mirror he had come accross would not reveal it. That was still a mystery to him, but perhaps Ceridwen could explain it. He stopped and smiled slightly. That was it. He needed Ceridwen to help him fully understand what he was. The full knowledge of what he was and what he could do were the greater part of the girl's professional exsistance. That was why he needed to save her, she was the only one that he trusted to tell him what was what in his new life. He turned back to the professor and cleared his throat. "I don't want to kill her," he stated firmly.

"Then what do you want with her?" the man asked. He smiled knowingly as if reading the youth's thoughts from the past few moments.

"I think she can tell me everything I want to know and need to know about what I am," Dwight said plainly. The man chuckled slightly.

"And you're really going to listen?"

"Haven't I been?" Dwight asked confusedly. He had taken in everything Ceridwen had told him about vampires and had looked over her research in written form as well. Wasn't that a textbook definition of listening to someone.

"You're right, but what I really meant was are you going to take what she says to heart? Do you really have any intention of changing what you are?" The man said as he removed his thick glasses and cleaned them with a cloth he had taken from his shirt pocket. Dwight looked away and frowned. The man noted it instantly and cleared his throat. "I see, well, that is between you and her I suppose. No matter, you need to get back to what you were doing and fast."

"We're only waiting until the sun goes down," Dwight explained.

"Do you really think that will be soon enough?" the professor asked raising both brows this time. Dwight shifted at his words. No adult ever asked that sort of question unless the appropriate answer was 'no'. The man reached under his desk and pulled out a small radio. Dwight had watched radios and things develop over several years of technological wonder. He was still fascinated by it even more so in some respects than he was with television. He stared at it pensively as the man set it in front of him. The dials had no numbers for stations, just for the volume of noise and the clarity of the sounds. Dwight looked back up at the professor in bewilderment. How would a radio that couldn't pick up but one pre-set station help them, and what did it have to do with the time that they had before they needed to hurry in after Ceridwen? The man reached down and clicked the dial for clarity on. It hummed softly. "No, this isn't a typical radio. You're in a dream, after all. The radio will allow you to hear what is going on in the mind of the person you've connected with in the dream. Ceridwen is on the other end. Do you want to hear what is happening?"

Dwight stared silently at the small black and grey box in front of the two. Whatever the man had planned for him to hear couldn't be pleasant, but it was quite probably necessary. He frowned and rubbed his face pensively. He really didn't want another upset at the moment, but then again he really didn't want a much nastier surprise when they went after Ceridwen either. He looked back up at the professor and nodded once. The man smiled and turned the second dial for volume. Dwight braced himself against the chair and listened.

Static crackled over the air waves followed by the steady rythm of a heartbeat. Dwight felt calmed by the soft pulsing for a moment. Then the rate begin to increase, three beats turned quickly to eight in the same time frame. Dwight was now sure he could hear panicked and laboured breathing. His nerves began to burn with anxiety. As the heartbeat sped up into what might have been considered a full gallop, the breathing became laced with a soft cry every now and again. The cries became louder and louder and more frequent as the heart continued to pound unmercifully and the breathing became more frightened. Dwight felt his own chest twist with pain and frustration, his own breathing caught up in the speed of the girl's. His mind raced madly. Ceridwen must have been suffering, she must have. He had to stop this, he had to do something. He could feel the pain in her chest and the stab of each cry as an another agonizing breath left her. Suddenly, Ceridwen emitted a loud and piercing scream. Dwight felt every hair on his body stand straight up as the scream morphed into an inhuman howl of torment. He shouted and leapt out of the chair.

"Stop it! Stop it! Make it stop!" he screamed. The proffessor allowed it to continue for a brief second more as the howl lowered and began to wain. He clicked both dials off and stared back at Dwight, who was standing timidly flush with the wall on the right side of the room. He panted heavily and wrapped his arms around himself comfortingly. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out any memory of what he had just heard and pictured. He looked over at the professor still sitting calmly at his desk. "Are they going to kill her?"

"They will need her brain tissue to survive in a state of trauma for several hours in order to extract all the information they need. When a creature is in distress, they become violent and fight for their own survival. When a human is in distress like that, they become docile and do whatever they are told in the hopes that the pain or whatever else is plaguing them will be assuaged." The proffessor stood and walked quietly over to the boy. "They need to subdue her wereform first. That will be painful since the tranquilizer will be formulated to only affix itself to that strand of DNA and will need silver bitrate in its composition. From there, they simply inflict as much pain as possible until they can be sure she will simply tell them what they need to know."

"That's beyond evil," Dwight whispered.

"Yes. I would say that taking delight or profit from another person's suffering is the only mark of a monster, wouldn't you?" the man said calmly. Dwight felt his mind buzz with recognizing those words. He had said something very similar to Richard when confronting him. He looked up at the man resoloutely. "You need to get to her quickly if you still want to benefit from her knowledge. If you aren't there in time, she may suffer something worse than death."

"What?" Dwight asked with a large lump forming in his throat.

"She will be without any trace of humanity left in her to use, but her conscious mind will be present. She will literally be trapped within herself, watching the horrors of her own actions unfolding in front of her without the ability to stop it," he explained. Every ounce of fluid in Dwight froze solid. The proffessor walked back over to the door and opened it. "Get going."

Dwight nodded quickly and began to try and shake himself out of the dream. The world around him refused to morph back into reality. Now his heart rate began to match what he had just heard. He growled in frustration and tensed every muscle in a second effort to escape. The office remained, but now he was paralyzed. Dwight couldn't move and found it next to impossible to breathe. He gathered all of his strength and set it ablaze in each and every cell within him, then screamed loudly as he tried to break free of the paralysis. As he felt his arms rip free from their current position, he sat bolt upright in the plane and banged his head against the nearest bar in its skeleton. He grunted and grabbed hold of his head as a small cut appeared. Jeremy stirred and looked over at him.

"Quiet down, _people_ are trying to sleep," he muttered. Dwight growled and reached out, taking Jeremy by his good shoulder. He turned and noticed the intensity burning in Dwight's inhuman eyes. "What? What is it?"

"We have to get to Ceridwen, now!" he shouted. Jeremy frowned.

"Why? Are you sensing something?"

"In a manner. She's already suffering." He looked away, trying to fight off the memory of the transmission in his head.

"I guess they found a way to keep her other side from coming out too much for them to handle."

"A tranquilizer formulated with silver bitrate," Dwight explained. Jeremy stared at him in surprise. "We have to go, now!"

"But the sun..." Jeremy stammered. "That'll kill you, won't it?"

Dwight growled in irritation. "Yes, it will." He thought long and hard. He looked up. "How well can you drive an automobile?"

"You mean a car, right? Pretty good, not as good as my dad. I mean he and Ceridwen keep saying that..."

"Enough!" Dwight shouted. Jeremy silenced and stared up at the distressed vampire in something that resembled concern. "Get to the controls. Remove the panels and give them to me. I'll instruct you on how to 'drive' (he shuddered and nearly retched) _my plane_." The last few words came out as a low growl, but Jeremy wasn't in a position to be easily frightened.

"Wow. First you come back for us when we're surrounded by the police and now you're going to let me touch your precious? You're really serious about this." Jeremy could feel Dwight's rage seething at the comment. It gave him a small amount of satisfaction to know that Dwight needed him too much to rip him apart at the moment. Jeremy climbed into the pilot's seat and removed the panel over one window, handing it quickly to Dwight. Dwight breathed sharply as he covered his head with the smaller panel. Jeremy reached over and uncovered the other window in the same manner. "Brace yourself, I'm taking off the big guy." Dwight lowered himself and drew in an incredibly deep breath as Jeremy removed the panel over the windshield. Jeremy tossed it back to Dwight quickly. The young vampire didn't make a move to pick it up at all. He had just enough coverage with the two smaller panels and felt it more prudent to use what was working at the moment rather than risk being burned in the name of something that might not have been much better. Jeremy looked back for a moment. "You alright?"

"Fine. Turn the key in the ignition." Dwight steadied his breathing as Jeremy reached down for the key. Dwight went over the instructions in starting the engine on the craft and preparing to taxi on the ground itself. He shuddered when Jeremy uttered the words 'uh oh'. "What is it?" he asked painfully.

"The fuel gage is reading that you're low. Are you sure we can make it?"

"We won't if you sit there like a little girl playing with the controls!" Dwight shouted. Jeremy turned and glared at him. Dwight frowned and looked down. He didn't have the courage or humility to apologize, especially to Jeremy at the moment. He looked back up and gave a list of instructions on steering the vehicle. Jeremy seemed to be handling her very smoothly. It impressed Dwight and infuriated him all at once. Dwight went over in his head the proper directions on how to get to the warehouse. He frowned. He couldn't remember at the moment and it was very hard to concentrate.

"Look, there's a sidewalk! There's a small road not far from it. That should lead us to the warehouse, right?" Jeremy waited for Dwight to answer. He turned and noticed that Dwight was kneeling forward with both panels held tightly over him. He could hear the vampire's breathing even with the roar of the plane's engine. He frowned. "Hang on, Dwight. We're not far. Just stay with me."

"Hurry," Dwight breathed.

Ceridwen strained against the binding over her. Dyllis watched from a few feet away. The operating table they were using was meant to hold a large animal, just in case they needed to handle another part of her. They had injected the tranquilizing formula into her only a few minutes before. Ceridwen had only been able to fight with her captors for a moment after she herself had been electrocuted by one of the nearby attendants. She screamed and howled in agony as the seerum fought with the already conflicted cells in her system. Dyllis smiled cruelly as the sound of her suffering saturated his need for evil. There would never be a way to truly satiate it, but this would do for the moment. After a few more moments of the girl screaming and struggling, she stopped moving and breathed heavily. The medical assistant nearest her moved her face towards him and shone a light in her eyes. He looked her over carefully as another assistant moved towards them and cut her arm to take a blood sample. Ceridwen felt more exhausted than ever before in her life. No transformation had ever taken this much energy or been this painful, not even as a child. Tears began to drip down her face as Dyllis walked over to her and the assistant still examining her.

"Well?" he asked. The assistant looking over the bloodsample smiled back at his commander and nodded triumphantly. He turned towards the man still examing Ceridwen physically. "Well?"

"She seems to have responded favourably to the formula," he stated. "The effects last twenty four hours."

"That's quite potent. Wonderful. Now for the second phase," he said in a wicked hiss.

"Actually, sir, we need to allow her system at least fifteen minutes to recover from this trauma before enducing anything further. It could kill her instantly." The man put down the light and the flat stick he had been using to check the girl's status. Dyllis frowned and growled. "It's not really a setback, sir. It's to be expected. She's responding much better than we had originally anticipated. This will take less time than we budgetted."

"Good." Dyllis looked down at Ceridwen. She turned her eyes up to his, looking pleadingly at him. He drew in an evil measure of delight at the sound of her breathing, heart beat, and the sight of her tear-filled eyes. She didn't even have the strength to beg for mercy at the moment. "We'll just wait fifteen minutes then." Dyllis looked down at his watch, observing the time at the minute hand like an old miser.

The doors to the room suddenly burst open. Dyllis whirled angrily towards the vampire that entered.

"Sir," the man said breathlessly as he nodded his head towards his commander. Dyllis nodded to him. "We've caught an intruder. We have him subdued on the ground floor."

Dyllis smiled, showing his glistening white teeth for a moment. The warehouse had several offices and smaller storage areas on an upper level. That was what was being used at the moment to hold Ceridwen and had acted as a holding cell earlier. The man must have been in the main part of the warehouse. It couldn't have been Dwight, not so soon and certainly not without doing a significant amount of damage first. He looked back at Ceridwen and chuckled softly.

"She'll be ready by the time I'm done with this. Do not start anything without me," he instructed. The three assistants in the room nodded and went back to work checking on equipment and continuing to examine Ceridwen from the read outs on the few pieces of machinery they were using to monitor heartbeat, respiration, brain activity, and blood pressure. "Lead the way."

The man nodded and headed back out the door with his master not far behind. Dyllis and the younger vampire walked down the stairs and onto the main floor of the warehouse. The majority of his followers and the few lycans that he kept with them stood around something. There were two vampires at each entrance and one lycan posted at an emergency exit, but the rest were gathered right here. Altogether, Dyllis had fifty six vampires and seven lycans with him at the moment. Dyllis moved the rest of the beings to the side and stared in amusement at a man seated on the floor holding onto his bruised head. Dyllis had followed Dwight's paths almost as closely as Dwight himself. He knew exactly who this man was and what he had been.

"Richard Edward Dees, how marvelous! So Dwight did find a use for you after all!" he laughed. Richard groaned and looked up at the man. Dyllis knelt and growled softly into the man's face. Richard shuddered and backed into the wall, whimpering pitifully. He had sworn to himself that he wasn't going to do anything as stupid as this ever again and yet here he sat, the victim of his own morbid curiosity and uncontrollable need to look at and touch everything. "I daresay that you would be the perfect person to tell me exactly where the little scamp is right now."

"I really don't..." Richard began stammering.

Dyllis and the others around him began to laugh coldly. "This is going to be the most enjoyable day I've had in years!" he exclaimed clapping his hands together excitedly. Richard's eyes widened and his motor skills evaporated at the instant that Dyllis extended his huge fangs. He grabbed Richard by the collar and pulled him up to stand. With one hand, he tore the man's shirt away from his shoulder and leaned forward. Richard cried out as Dyllis moved in for the kill.

A rumble from outside the warehouse drew everyone's attention towards the main entrance doors. Dyllis frowned and growled. He dropped Richard and turned towards the large doors. Crashing and sreeching filled the air as the small plane built up enough speed behind it and burst right through the aged doors. The vampires around Dyllis cried out and roared in surprise and anger. Richard watched in amazement as Dwight's plane careened towards them. He gasped and broke free of Dyllis, rolling to the side.

At the controls, Jeremy laughed and smiled as he drove straight for the target; the large group of supernatural creatures with their ring leader included. The vampires dispersed as quickly as they could, but not before Jeremy had bulldozed over at least thirty of them, crunching them beneath the wheels with several sickening snaps.

"Yeah! Woo-hoo! I'm gonna have to remember this to make into a professional sport! Bowling for vampires!" he shouted and laughed excitedly.

"Enough with your juvenile games! Stop the plane!" Dwight ordered frantically.

"Er... you haven't taught me how," Jeremy said nervously as he turned back to face Dwight.

"Watch where you're going!!" Dwight shouted.

Jeremy turned back around and screamed loudly. The two shouted in unison as the farthest wall inched closer to them, dangerously close. Jeremy fought with the controls, but nothing was responding. He turned and panted heavily at Dwight.

"Brace for impact!" Dwight yelled as he reached forward and grabbed Jeremy, throwing him to the back of the plane before they could collide. Jeremy grunted in pain and sat back up, clutching his throbbing shoulder as he watched the plane and the wall meet.


	20. Sudden Death

Chapter 20: Sudden Death

Lenore's nose met the wall with a slight 'bump' as Dwight leapt forward and quickly turned off the engine. There would be damage to the poor aircraft, but only slight. He turned back to Jeremy and growled loudly.

"When someone tells you to stop you don't ask questions, you stop!" he exclaimed as he climbed out through the door.

"That would have been ideal, Dracula, except I DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO STOP THE PLANE!!!" Jeremy yelled in reply as he stumbled out behind Dwight. Dwight smacked the back of the boy's head. "Hey!"

"Watch your language," Dwight muttered. He sniffed deeply and carefully for a moment. The fear he had just experienced at the thought of Lenore's destruction had given him enough of a boost of energy to combat any damage done by the minimal exposure to sunlight. He looked around carefully, taking inventory of what they had left to fight through in order to reach Ceridwen. He stopped moving and listened carefully. Dilbert was nearby.

"Great. Now I'm getting moral instruction from a guy who..." Jeremy began. Dwight reached over and clapped a hand over the boy's mouth commandingly. Jeremy glared at him for a moment, but then noticed the intense concentration in the man's eyes. He frowned and shoved Dwight's arm away from him.

"He's nearby," Dwight whispered.

"Where?" Jeremy asked.

Dwight turned and glared harshly at him for a moment. His eyes seemed to shout the phrase he was thinking; _If I knew where he was, then I wouldn't be trying to listen for him, you dolt_. He turned back towards the rest of the warehouse, narrowing his eyes carefully as he tried desperately to locate his greatest fear and source of torment. His mind raced and his stomach turned at realizing that his senses were somewhat reduced since he hadn't been able to feed properly in the past day or so. He growled and cursed himself for not draining one or both of his captors when he had escaped the first time. A noise caught both his and Jeremy's attention from the other end of the warehouse. Dwight scowled and flew towards it. Jeremy said nothing as he hurried after him. The two made it to a pile of splintered wood and twisted metal. Dwight was careful to stay very clear of the sunlight streaming through the entrance. Luckily, the rest of the building was still dense and dark enough to keep the light concentrated. It seemed to Jeremy that the structure had almost been designed to keep light out, but he knew this couldn't have been true in the beginning at all. Dwight reached down into the pile of debris and fished around for whatever was stirring in the mess. His hand brushed the shoulder of a being, a man. He growled and took hold of the sleeve, yanking the man into the air. Both he and Jeremy jumped backwards as Richard appeared out of the pile and let out a cry at them. He sighed with relief at noticing the two.

"I never, _ever_ thought I'd be glad to see you after last year! There's another vampire; a bigger, older, scarier one! He has friends!" Richard exclaimed in one breath. Dwight frowned and dropped the man onto the floor. "You didn't tell me that there were going to be more of them!"

"We really didn't tell you anything if you recall. Only that you weren't going to be our pilot," Dwight growled, still scanning the area. "You really should learn to put aside your fear so that you can function in emergencies."

"I knew I should've demanded to know what you needed before I agreed to come along!" Richard said hitting his knee with his fist. Dwight shook his head and began moving towards the staircase. It smelled like Dilbert was in that direction exclusively. Jeremy and Richard followed hurriedly. "Then again I was a little distracted by the image that kept replaying its gruesome wrongness in my head!"

"Will you let it go, already?" Jeremy said with a grimace. "I've got enough disturbing pictures in my head, enough reasons to scream."

The small amount of blood flowing in Dwight's thin veins froze instantly at the mention of disturbing images and screaming. The memory of listening to Ceridwen's agony over the radio and the image of her lying helpless in pain flashed through his mind again. Other images had begun to play in his mind as well, images of his victims begging for mercy and dying slowly as he drew all of their fluid from them. He shook those thoughts away angrily and growled softly as they made it to the stairs. A stab of pain went through Dwight's chest. He scowled at recognizing this as being a warning sign to the presence of another evil being. He had felt it somewhat when Craig had confronted him on the balcony at the mansion. He snarled and turned around slowly. Dilbert stood a mere few inches away. Jeremy and Richard turned to see what Dwight was staring at.

"Scheisse," Richard said softly. Jeremy looked at him in irritation and then looked towards Dwight.

"I had no idea you were so resourceful, Dwight. Then again it was your unlimited possibilities that caught my attention in the first place," Dilbert hissed coldly. "I suppose there isn't anything left to do for you except destroy you mercilessly and remove any chance of you getting in my way."

"Whoa, wait, then it's true that Doctor Drakeman is the one that created you?" Jeremy exclaimed. He balled both his hands into fists. "I guess that means you and I are taking him out together."

Dwight gently took Jeremy by his good arm and lifted him, setting him onto the first stair. Jeremy stared at him angrily.

"Go up the stairs and look for your sister. Take Richard with you," Dwight ordered. Jeremy began to protest. Dwight whirled around and changed his form entirely, roaring madly at Jeremy and Richard. Richard shuddered as he bolted up the stairs past Jeremy. The young man frowned at Dwight, nodded, and then headed up the stairs behind Richard.

"I do hope that your friends are strong enough to overtake the three assistants I left with the girl. I really do not sense anything special about either of them and that would spell certain death for them both." Dilbert contorted his body as he transmorphed.

Being much older and far more decidedly sadistic than Dwight, the vampire's form was hideous even by vampiric standards. Instead of simply having the cragged, grey, veiny skin that Dwight did Dilbert's was blotchy green and dark brown with large purple veins protruding from where there had once been major arteries as a human. His fangs were much thicker than Dwight's and seemed to be jagged on their tips and going up the backs. His tongue was as long and grotesque as Dwight's, but forked near its end. Dwight's hair became straggly and thin instead of the beautiful dark locks that usually cradled his face, but Dilbert's was all but disappeared. What little hair the vampire did have was standing on end and looked to be covered in a thick oily substance. Dilbert's fingers were longer than Dwight's with thinner, sharper claws. His ears grew to twice their normal size and pointed straight up at the end. His eyes glowed a sick yellow with tiny pupils and large ridges of blackened skiin underneath them. Dwight froze at the horriffic sight of the man who had murdered him. This was the last memory he had as a human, being viciously betrayed by this monster. His heart and lungs ceased to function as fear began to control his thoughts. Dwight couldn't believe how overwhelmed he was. He had become a powerful force against nature, why was he letting something as trivial as fear stop him?

The four lycans that had survived the plane's entrance, worked carefully and quickly to cover the majority of the entrance with parts of the broken doors so that only a small amount of sunlight streamed into the warehouse at a very odd angle. Dwight looked towards it for a moment. He had been very careful to stay in the part of the building that would have remained darkened even with no chance of ever replacing the doors. He watched as the surviving vampires moved around their commander. With Jeremy's giddy extermination of the majority of them, there were only about twenty-five left that Dwight could see clearly. He snarled and lowered himself, moving towards the left as Dilbert menacingly moved to the right. Both were crouched and ready for an attack, but Dilbert would have the upperhand for the moment. Dwight still felt fear wrenching knots in him. He tried to push that aside and think of the task at hand. Dilbert leapt forward and caught Dwight by the arm, biting harshly into his right shoulder. Dwight roared and snarled as he pulled free. Dilbert snarled and reared back, attacking him again from the left. The older vampire's face met with the younger's fist, balled in anger. Dwight's firm blow into the man's nose sent him flying backwards several feet. Dilbert skidded on his back. As he slid, he leaned his upper body forward and leapt into the air not but a fraction of a second after stopping near the wall. Dwight gasped as Dilbert moved straight for his chest. This was exactly the position he had found himself in several years ago.

He closed his eyes and raised his arms accross his face, leaning down defensively. Dilbert laughed with triumph as he landed in front of the younger vampire and siezed him cruelly by both arms.

"Finally, the last of that worthless generation destroyed. It was so refreshing when morality lifted from the general public after the nineteen-sixties," he growled. Dwight stared into his face. Dilbert must have been the main operative behind destroying all the vampires from Dwight's generation as well as creating a vast number of them. Ceridwen had told him that it was only recently that certain advances had been made to stave off the senseless slaughter of vampires that may have been able to reform. Dwight thought back to Jeremy's story for a moment. "Ironic that you'll die a second time at my hands. Pity that you weren't strong enough even as a monster to prove yourself."

Dwight's eyes flashed with anger. He had been called a weakling repeatedly through the first half of his life and a monster through the second. He was neither. Ceridwen had told him so, recently. He drew in a deep breath and glared hatefully up at Dilbert. His fangs extended to their full length. He jerked his head forward, catching Dilbert's chin and part of his throat in his teeth. Dilbert cried out in surprise and agony. Dwight clenched his jaw and brought the two fangs together, tearing a wide hole in the enemy's neck. Dilbert coughed and gagged as he writhed on the ground. Dwight stood up cautiously and looked down at him. There was blood everywhere, more than enough to staisfy the hunger that burned within him. He smiled wickedly and knelt, breathing in the thick, sensual aroma of Dilbert's lifeforce and relishing his screams. Something suddenly snapped in the back of Dwight's mind. He froze. It was niether wise, nor humane to drink this and enjoy the scene. He scooted backwards. It was inhuman to take any amount of delight in bloodletting for its own sake. He frowned and growled in the lowest tone possible at his sire. Smiling, he took hold of the man by his blood-drenched collar and lifted his face to his.

"I will not be what you desired. Monsters are the ultimate in weakness, surviving only on the whims of their own selfish stupidity." Dwight pulled Dilbert to where his eyes met the younger, pupil to pupil. "I will be more than you were, _forever_." With that, Dwight took one hand and twisted Dilbert's head to the side, decapitating him in a swift movement. As Dilbert's lifeless corpse sank to the ground, Dwight rose slowly and turned to the other vampires near him. He smiled brightly, the inhuman hunger still glowing brightly in his features. The group stepped backwards timidly. "Take me to Ceridwen," he ordered.

The eldest female in the group led the way. The rest still stayed near Dilbert's remains in fear. Dwight still wasn't sure what he looked like, especially when he attacked. To frighten the rest of that group downstairs, it must have been quite gruesome. He moved his thoughts towards focusing on Ceridwen. After all of this, he had a mountain of questions that he knew only she could answer. He walked towards the room where she was being kept. The female opened the doors cautiously. Jeremy stood next to a large operating room in the centre of the room. Richard stood beside him, staring at the three vampiric assistants that now lay on the ground in a heap. Dwight looked at Jeremy in impressed confusion. He suddenly noticed the still smoking taser a few feet away from the three on the floor. He scoffed and then moved towards Jeremy. He cradled Ceridwen in his arms.

Dwight's heart sank. Ceridwen looked very pale, and very still. Jeremy looked as solemn as he would expect a young man that had lost a sibling to appear. He looked up at Dwight with resolve forming on his saddened face.

"That silver attacked her system. They didn't monitor everything carefully enough," he said softly. "You have to help her."

"How?" Dwight said quietly. Jeremy looked up, meeting Dwight's gaze directly.

"She needs blood from you," he said flatly. Dwight gave Jeremy a sideglance. "The virus in you will attack the silver long enough for hers to recover. It won't take hold of her, but it will be active for a little while. If you don't, she'll die within an hour."

"And that will cure her?" Dwight asked softly. Jeremy frowned and looked away for a moment. He breathed deeply. "Jeremiah, will it save her?"

"I don't know," he admitted loudly. Dwight took a step forward as Jeremy leaned his head onto Ceridwen and inhaled deeply. "I never studied the virus like she did, but it makes sense right now. I can't think of anything else."

Dwight nodded to him and scooted Richard away. The female stood in the doorway watching. Apparently, the assistants that Dilbert kept were quite beaten down by him. Their scent was very young by comparison to Dilbert, so they must have been part of the group that was less than fifty years old. He looked down at Ceridwen as he took her carefully from her brother's arms.

"I hope this works," Dwight said softly.

"Just do something, she's not even breathing," Jeremy said frantically.

Dwight closed his eyes and breathed deeply to steady himself. He was near ravenous right now and wasn't entirely sure that he could do this properly. He reached down to his wrist and slit a large cut into one of the bracelet lines below his palm with the tip of a fang. He gently pulled the sleeve away from Ceridwen's neckline and used one claw to make a large gash on her. He placed the cut on his wrist carefully over her wound and inhaled slowly. Jeremy watched, folding his hands tightly around one of Ceridwen's and praying loudly in a language that Dwight wasn't quite familiar with. Dwight's mind buzzed with anticipation as he looked down at the girl. He needed Ceridwen, she held many of the answers that would give him the only comfort he could have in this new exsistance. He growled softly at the thought of yet another good thing slipping helplessly away from him. Not this time, he thought to himself. To his surprise, he wasn't feeling weakened or more hungry, even with the wound on his wrist bleeding freely. Perhaps some of Ceridwen's blood was going into him. He closed his eyes for a moment as he began to have a loud ringing fill his ears. He shook his head and tried to focus on Ceridwen only. Colour began to return to her cheeks, but only slightly. Dwight smiled a little. Coldness surrounded him as Ceridwen's eyes began to flutter open. She looked up at him and groaned. Dwight had never been so relieved in all his life, it was wonderful save for the few moments before the relief. Ceridwen's eyes opened fully and she drew in a deep, desperate breath. Dwight sighed heavily and sunk to the floor, his hand slipping away from Ceridwen slowly. Ceridwen cried out and stared down at him. She looked over at Jeremy. Jeremy raced towards her and embraced her tightly. Ceridwen only allowed it for a second, then moved towards Dwight. She would survive, but Dwight's life was slipping out of him slowly.


	21. Soaring

Chapter 21: Soaring

Ceridwen and Jeremy helped Richard move quickly to help Dwight. Ceridwen was unable to do much for them in her weakened state, but her concern alone would have been enough to save him. The female that had been watching the whole ordeal, headed back down the stairs when she saw that Dwight was incapacitated for the moment. She, and the rest of the surviving vampires and lycans were met with another problem when the doors to the warehouse burst open. In poured two groups of officials, conflicting, but still trying to locate three particular individuals. The bureau's set of operatives went immediately towards the group of preternaturals and rounded them together in order to subdue them. Stephen led a smaller team hurriedly up the stairs calling for Ceridwen and Jeremy. Stephen's heart raced with fear at the knowledge something terrible had definitely transpired here. James headed up the stairs not far behind. Four officers and a detective from both the NYPD and the FAA followed as well looking for Richard, Dwight, and Jeremy (though they barely knew names or even what their perpetrators looked like). Stephen and his party began searching rooms to the left, while the officers went to the right. After three rooms of searching, Stephen's group came into the room where the troublemakers were located. Stephen cried out with joy and relief to see that both Ceridwen and Jeremy were conscious and seemed relatively unscathed at the moment. He raced over to both of them, looking them over and embracing each in turn. Richard knelt beside Dwight, instinctively feeling for a pulse and then smacking himself on the forehead at realizing what he was doing.

"Dwight's hurt, we need some whole blood and bandaging," Ceridwen said weakly. Stephen forced her to sit still as he motioned for the remaining operatives to remove the fallen vampire. Ceridwen held onto her adopted parent as Dwight was lifted off of the floor and carried out of the room effortlessly. Stephen looked towards Jeremy and Richard quickly.

"Get to the room beside us and wait until I tell you to come out," he instructed. Jeremy stared at his father for a moment. "Look the cops and the FAA are about to come in here and bust you guys. I have a plan, but it will only work if you go and hide... Now!"

Richard needed no further encouragement. He took Jeremy by the arm and hurried the two of them into the next room. Stephen put both his arms around Ceridwen. She was still quite cold to the touch, but a significant amount of colour had returned. He looked her over skeptically.

"Jeremy prayed," she said with a soft smile.

"Wonderful, a mitzvah miracle. Are you alright? What happened? What did they do to you?" Stephen said still examing her on the surface. Ceridwen sighed and rubbed her head.

"Dr. Drakeman had them inject me with some kind of silver compound to bind the lycangrophine in my system. He was gone by the time it took full effect. The next thing I knew was Dwight sinking to the floor while Jeremy came over to me. I had this cut on me and Dwight's wrist was bleeding pretty badly..." Ceridwen's eyes widened in realization. "Is Dwight okay? What happened to him? Where have they taken him?!"

Stephen embraced the girl firmly to calm her. "The medics took him for an assessment. He's lost quite a bit of blood, even for a full blown vampire. It's a wonder he didn't tear someone's neck open and go to town." Stephen removed his glasses for a moment, cleaning them on his shirt for a few seconds as they waited for the authorities to arrive. Ceridwen breathed carefully and tried furiously to piece together the small pieces of information that made up her memories from the past few hours and days. Stephen turned and stared at her as the door opened once more. The two watched as several officers entered with guns, cuffs, and badges at the ready. Stephen rolled his eyes. It was always amusing to watch the crowd of active citizens whose rational superiors had refuted help to the bureau on many important occasions. "Oh! thank God. We barely had time to taser those freaks. They came barrelling in with that little black plane down there that they used to kidnap my daughter here. I am so glad that you're here to take them away," Stephen said in his most convincing and professional voice. The officers looked at one another in confusion, then back to Stephen and Ceridwen. The obvious head of the investigation unit approached the two.

"I'd like to have a word with you two," he said holding up his badge.

Stephen nodded and began explaining things as best as he could manage. Ceridwen listened silently, watching the officers carry off the badly burned bodies of the vampiric assistants. This wouldn't be the first time electricity had been used to handle the extermination of cases beyond help. She frowned. She wanted more than anything to be back with Dwight. She answered the officer's questions when she had the presence of mind to hear them. After several more minutes of explanations and circumstantial evidence, Stephen and the others were allowed back to their positions at the head of the recon team for the bureau. The paperwork, identification, and labeling that he had was quite impressive. The officers themselves wondered if what they were seeing was some kind of government cover-up, but felt it best to leave it alone in the name of paperwork. Ceridwen, Jeremy, and Richard were lead out to one of the Emergency vehicles that the bureau used. Ceridwen's stomach lurched at the sight of one. She had only bad memories tied to them. Once she was loaded in, the medical operatives began to treat her system more carefully. Jeremy and Richard were silent as they rode. Ceridwen turned to them as the operatives started an IV.

"Who had the idea to use vampire blood?" she asked softly. Richard nudged Jeremy. Jeremy looked up at him in confusion and then towards Ceridwen. She could clearly see how exhausted her brother was. She smiled. "You knew that his form of the virus would attack the silver and allow the production of the lycangrophine to even me out, didn't you?"

"Of course," Jeremy said with a shrug. Richard rolled his eyes and shook his head. He slipped another patch out of one of his pockets and turned towards Jeremy. Jeremy waved his hand dissmissively. Another of the medics approached Jeremy and began treating his shoulder. Jeremy winced and began to cry out.

"I can't believe you were doing all that with a broken shoulder," Richard said as he placed the patch over his forearm.

"Would you believe he's had worse?" Ceridwen added. Richard looked at her and smiled.

"I think I would," he chuckled. "You must be Ceridwen, the one that started this whole thing with Dwight."

"Actually, Mister Dees, you started this whole thing with Dwight. It's a good thing you did, he's more incredible than even I had thought before getting to know him," she said with a smile.

"He's alright," Jeremy chimed in. Ceridwen wasn't sure if Jeremy were simply referring to Dwight's health or the fact that there might be some new and common ground between the two of them. She smiled more brightly at reading the expression in Jeremy's eyes. While the youth would be cautious and still a little angry at the man, he now had some measure of respect and gratitude for Dwight. "This is going to be a fun activity report to file."

Dwight felt his vision beginning to clear. The last thing he could bring to memory was being at a warehouse, no a hospital. He groaned. Now the memory was clearer. It was a medical room in a warehouse. He breathed deeply and tried to sit up. He suddenly felt a small hand on his shoulder. His mind buzzed for a second. He realized that he was wearing essentially what he had been wearing when accosted by whatever had led him to this. The only things that had been removed from his person were his cloak, his cravat, and his jacket. Hadn't he been the one to remove them? He reached for his head and felt a stab of pain. This time the pain was not in his head or neck, it was on his wrist. The damage that Dilbert had done to his shoulder had healed for the most part by the time he had been treated for bloodloss. There were some ointments of Ceridwen's design on it, but nothing more. He opened his eyes fully and looked up. Ceridwen sat over him with her hand gently settled on his shoulder.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she said softly. He nodded and smiled with relief. Ceridwen took joy in seeing him delight in the salvation of another life. She cleared her throat. "The wound is healing quickly. There was very little damage done to Lenore. Since she was rightfully mine by documentation, the FAA assumed that I had been hijacked and they gave her back after a complete search was done. She's been detailed and so on, so she's good as new."

"Good," Dwight breathed. He closed his eyes and tried to block out the burning pain in his wrist that was making its way into his stomach. Ceridwen frowned and scooted closer to him.

"That was valliant, the way you came after me like that. Letting someone else use your plane and sacrificing your blood for me," she said trying to see a glint of affection in his eyes. Dwight frowned. He couldn't have Ceridwen fawning over him... ever. It wasn't a good thing in the beginning and it certainly wouldn't be good now. She was useful for information and in aiding him to live more comfortably, nothing more.

"Jeremiah allowed me some of his blood and didn't destroy me when I came back to tell them about you. I simply returned their favours," he said firmly. Ceridwen looked away, hurt that his actions had been taken out of obligation. She looked back at him, still hoping that he would reach forward and embrace her. He laid back, sighing with contentment. Ceridwen rose slowly from the bed and walked towards the door. Dwight congratulated himself on surviving a few minutes with her without somekind of emotional upheaval or physical distress. His heart sank in irritation as Ceridwen stopped at the doorway and turned back to him.

"The bureau says that you're still capable of reforming. They said that while they were treating you they didn't find a drop of Dyllis's blood in you. In fact, it was the lack of blood currently in your system that led you to collapse like that. They said that it showed initiative towards a change for the better in that you didn't lash out at anyone or drink from Dyllis's remains. They've taken away the label they had on you as far as 'trial rehabilitation subject'." Ceridwen watched as Dwight opened both eyes and sat up, staring at her in slight amazement. "They've upped the status to 'temporary rehabilitation patient'. Jeremy signed the papers without a word of protest."

Dwight looked down, smiling happily. For the first time in decades, he had done something good. No, it was beyond good, this deed measured itself on a much grander scale. He looked back up at Ceridwen and tried to stand and walk towards her. His knees buckled under him, still not fully adjusted to being back on a normal blood regimine and recovering from the wounds he'd received. Ceridwen rushed forward and helped him lie back. He grunted in pain and tensed every muscle he could for a moment. She reached down and pulled a blanket over him.

"I have so many questions for you, Ceridwen. That's why I came back." Dwight looked up at her. That, itself was a mistake. Ceridwen's eyes were haunting and every time he looked into them, it was addictive. He growled softly and turned his head away. Ceridwen reached down and touched the side of his face. Dwight's hair stood on end as he heard the girl purr. He looked back at her inquisitively.

"Go on to sleep. The moon cradle predicts nothing but peace for the next three days. It will be restful for us all; boring, but restful." She stood to leave the room once more.

"What is the moon cradle?" Dwight asked as he sat up on his elbows and watched her. Ceridwen smiled, purring more loudly as she turned back to him.

"My ancestors watched the skies carefully. Hazes and groups of clouds around the moon are called its cradle. The colour, shape, and consistency of the moon cradle tells us alot about weather, events, and the future. I was born under a violet moon cradle, a sign of wisdom and, some would say, mischief," she said with a smile. Dwight noticed her pointed cainines again. He could swear that her feline side was present even when she was not transformed. Perhaps that was true of all women, though. He smiled at her.

"I would believe both." He watched her take hold of the handle. "When I'm stronger, I would love to see it."

"I doubt that Lenore could gain that much altitude, Dwight," Ceridwen laughed. He chuckled as well.

"Perhaps. But being that much closer would be wonderful, wouldn't it?" he mused.

Ceridwen's eyes flashed with a brilliant yellow in her striking green. Her cat's teeth glistened, and Dwight could have sworn that he detected the presence of whiskers. She opened the door slowly and said,"That _would_ be wonderful."


End file.
